Freedom
by Aerisuke
Summary: After Sasuke left and betrayed Konoha, I told myself that I would never fall in love with anyone again. That is, until I met... him... William Wallace, a man who changed my life forever, and Scotland's greatest hero who dreamed of one thing - freedom. My name is Sakura Haruno. This is not only my story, but it's also the story... of William Wallace, also known as "Braveheart."
1. Prologue

Freedom. Prologue.

**(Note: This is an idea that's been on my mind for almost five months now. I've pretty much been thinking about this all summer. Anyway, this is my first Braveheart fanfic and Bravheart & Naruto crossover fanfic, so please be nice about it, and no rude comments. Also, this Naruto crossover fanfic is going to be a little different, compared to my other Naruto crossover fanfics with mostly The Legend Of Zelda and Final Fantasy, mostly LOZ. So, I was watching Braveheart recently (which has been my all-time favorite movie since childhood), and I've been reading a few fanfics of it, and realized something. Although I've written so many Naruto crossover fanfics, with again, Legend Of Zelda and Final Fantasy (Legend of Zelda's my all-time favorite video game), I have never written one with Braveheart before because like I said, that's my all-time favorite movie, so I thought I'd give it a go and wanted to try different. P.S. I am going to try not to make Sakura act like a Mary-Sue (a character who is written unrealistically), so I'm going to try my best. Since I've heard that Braveheart is considered to be one of the most historically inaccurate modern films of all time, I am going to try and be historically accurate (*SPOILER* excluding the love affair between William and Princess Isabelle since that's going to be part of the fanfic and was part of the movie) as possible, so please bear with me if I missed anything. Thank you.)**

**Characters: William Wallace (Braveheart) (sadly stupid Fanfiction doesn't let you add any Braveheart characters when adding them, so just pretend he's on the characters list at the top), Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto), Sakura Haruno (Naruto), Kakashi Hatake (Naruto), Robert The Bruce (Braveheart), King Edward I "Longshanks" (Braveheart) Princess Isabelle (Braveheart), and many more.**

**Rating: T (may change to an M rating because, well Braveheart is a rated R movie due to the violence). Contains violence, mild language (I usually don't put swear words in my fanfics, but I'm only doing it because Braveheart also has foul language), and some sexual content.**

**Couples: William X Sakura (main pairing), William X Isabelle (another one of the main pairings of the story), and William X Murron (a little bit, but not too much).**

**Genres: Adventure, Angst, Drama, Comedy (a little bit), Friendship, Romance and Tragedy.**

**Summary:**  
><strong>Who would have thought that I, Sakura Haruno, a Japanese ninja would fall in love with a Scottish rebel like William Wallace? After Sasuke left and betrayed Konoha, I told myself that I would never fall in love with anyone again. That is, until I met... him... William Wallace, a man who not only changed my life forever, but was also Scotland's greatest hero who dreamed of one thing – freedom. My name is Sakura Haruno. This is not only my story, but it's also the story... of William Wallace, also known as "Braveheart."<strong>

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

**Warning:**  
><strong>The following fanfic contains spoilers for the movie Braveheart (excluding the "Naruto" stuff). If you've not seen this movie, then please stop reading now to avoid being spoiled. You have been warned. Again, thank you, and please enjoy the story. Also, there will be spoilers for "Naruto," so spoiler alert. Remember, the stuff with Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura in the story is entirely fan-made, and is therefore no way associated with the actual Braveheart movie.<strong>

**For my story, here are the date of births (DOB's) for William, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi when Team Kakashi met William before he died, and the ages they were at the time of his death, and The Battle Of Bannockburn.**

**Kakashi Hatake**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): September 15, 1266<strong>  
><strong>Age: 31 (at the time of The Battle of Stirling) 32 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk), 39 (at the time of William's execution), and 48 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn.<strong>

**William Wallace**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): 1270.<strong>  
><strong>Died: August 23, 1305.<strong>  
><strong>Age: 27 (at the time of The Battle of Stirling) 28 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk), and 35 (at the time of his execution).<strong>

**Sakura Haruno**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): March 28, 1280.<strong>  
><strong>Age: 17 (at the time of The Battle Of Stirling) 18 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk), and 25 (at the time of William's execution).<strong>

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): October 10, 1280.<strong>  
><strong>Age: 17 (at the time of The Battle Of Stirling) 18 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk), 25 (at the time of William's execution), and 34 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn).<strong>

**P.S. Since Braveheart has Scottish Gaelic, French and Latin as the other spoken languages of the movie, whenever I write a scene where someone (i.e. William) is speaking in another language, it will be written like this:**

**(") ~ Foreign language.**

* * *

><p>~ <em>August 23, 1305... <em>

_"The prisoner wishes to say a word."_

_William Wallace, the Scottish rebel was a man who had it all: courage, respect, honor, victory, love, power, passion, wisdom, a brave heart, and most of all, a dream for freedom._

_Now, h__ere he was, __laying down and tied to a cross – Jesus Christ, crucifixion style, __about to be executed __after being captured by the English,__ all because he was guilty of high treason and many other crimes, as well as being considered a traitor to England._

_But, he never gave up. The Royal Magistrate told William to beg for mercy, and he would die a quick death. However, William refused, and he knew he was going to die a slow and painful death._

_Then, instead of crying out "mercy," at the top of his lungs, William screamed:_

_"FREEDOM!"_

* * *

><p><em>~ Present day, June 23, 1314... ~<em>

A 34-year-old woman named Sakura Haruno awoke, panting in fear with beads of sweat on her forehead. Since William had died, sometimes she'd always have nightmares about it. She looked carefully at her surroundings, and to her left, she saw her husband Sasuke Uchiha sleeping right beside her. Before getting out of bed, she gave a quick kiss to Sasuke on the lips and went in another room of her house. She opened the door and saw their 8-year-old son sleeping in his bed. Sakura gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and went back in her bedroom that she shared with Sasuke. She sat down at her desk, took out her notebook, and started writing.

_As I write these words on my notebook, there are often times when I ask myself..._

_Who would __have __thought that I, Sakura Haruno, a Japanese ninja would fall in love with a Scottish rebel like William Wallace?_

_After Sasuke left and betrayed Konoha, I told myself that I would never fall in love with anyone again._

_That is, until I met..._

_H__im... William Wallac__e__, __Scotland's greatest hero. __You see, he died almost nine years ago, and if he was still alive right now, he would have wanted me to write our story, so it would inspire people to never give up on their dreams and to stand up for what they believe in._

_Not only did William change my life forever, but many others as well, and if you ever asked him what he dreamed of, he would say, "freedom." I believed him. He kind of reminded me of my best friend Naruto Uzumaki a little bit. They both have that de__termination__ to never give up._

_I've always considered myself to be a true ninja... but those were just empty words, because Sasuke, William and Naruto were always in the lead, while I watched them from the background._

_One of those men died protecting me._

_That man... was none other than William Wallace himself._

_Anyway, my name is Sakura Haruno. This is not only my story, but it's also the story... of William Wallace, also known as "Braveheart."_

_"__And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am."_

_~ "Iris," Goo Goo Dolls, from the movie "City Of Angels."_

_(*"Braveheart" theme plays*)_

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Well, that's it for the chapter. More chapters are coming soon. Also, Italics are flashbacks, dreams, thoughts and Sakura's narration. P.S. I think that the chorus in the song "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls really seems to fit William and Sakura in this story. Oh and before I forget, while most of the story is going to be in third person, some parts will be in first person (in Sakura's POV since she's the one telling the story). I was kind of thinking of having the beginning and end of every chapter be told in first person, but I'm not sure. Okay, maybe some chapters will have Sakura's narration at the beginning and end. Anyway, tell me what you think, and please read and review! :D)<strong>


	2. Chapter 1: William Wallace

Freedom. Chapter 1: William Wallace.

**(Note: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, so now we get onto the real story. :D P.S. I forget to mention this in the last chapter, but as part of the fanfic, I will be using some parts of the dialogue from the actual "Braveheart" movie, while other parts will be in my own words.)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Before I tell you about William Wallace's death in 1305, I will talk about the events that happened years before.<em>

_It all started one fateful day, seventeen years ago... I was seventeen._

* * *

><p><em>17 years ago...<em>

~ May 5, 1297... ~

The sun was shining brightly in the ninja village of Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village. The birds were singing, children were laughing and playing and people were talking amongst themselves and having a good time.

Not too far away, a man was at the entrance to the village gates. He told two of the guards Izumo and Kotetsu that he wanted to see the Hokage. They let him pass of course, and he started to walk towards the Hokage office.

Meanwhile, a 16-year-old hyperactive blonde-haired ninja was sleeping in bed. He had just come back from a mission with his friends a few days earlier, and he was already exhausted.

Then, he heard a loud knock at the door. He groaned, and immediately woke up right away.

"Coming, coming...," he mumbled as he made his way toward the door with a cup of ramen in his hand.

He opened the door, and his pink-haired green-eyed teammate was standing at his door with an impatient look on her face, arms crossed, and tapping her left foot on the floor.

"Oh. Hey, Sakura. What are you doing here?" he asked.

She sighed.

"Why is it that almost every time Lady Tsunade wants me to come get you, I find you sleeping?"

"Oh come on, Sakura! You know how tired I get after we go on missions!" the boy cried.

"Whatever. Anyway, she wants to see us in her office. Let's go, Naruto," Sakura stated.

"Wait! I'm not even dressed yet!" Naruto panicked as he went back in his house, and got prepared to get ready to go to Tsunade's office.

"This happens all the time...," Sakura mumbled.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, after Naruto got dressed, he and Sakura were just arriving at Tsunade's office with their sensei who was a silver-haired man wearing a mask covering his left eye, and wearing a green vest with blue sleeves, and blue pants.<p>

"I'm sorry I had to interrupt you all on such a short notice, but I have a mission for you," Tsunade declared.

"Does it have to do with Sasuke?" Naruto recalled, remembering his raven-haired, onyx-eyed teammate who betrayed Konoha almost four years ago.

"No. It doesn't. However, since he left Konoha four years ago, I've decided that he needs a temporary replacement until he returns. You see, each team must contain a three-man squad, with a sensei as their leader. In your case, Naruto, Sakura, you only have a two-man team, which is why I'd like you to meet the new member of Team Kakashi, and temporary replacement for Sasuke. This is William Wallace, and he is Scotland's greatest hero," Tsunade spoke as Team Kakashi turned their attention to the man now known as William Wallace standing to her right.

He had long brown hair, with the sides of it in braids, and sapphire blue eyes, much like Naruto's eye color. He wore a belted plaid, also known as a tartan kilt, arm bracers, and carried a long two handed sword on his back. William was 5' 3'' tall, and weighed 120 lbs. Surprisingly, he was the same height as Sakura (who was also 5' 3''), but was 20 lbs pounds heavier than her (who weighed 100 pounds).

Naruto looked at William's outfit, and raised an eyebrow.

"Why is this guy wearing a dress?"

William, who was insulted at Naruto's comment, punched him on the head, and lashed out in a Scottish accent:

"For your information, this is not a dress. It's called a kilt."

Naruto shouted at William with angry white eyes:

"Well excuse me, but I'm not from Scotland now, am I?!"

"You should pay a little more respect for me! Oh, here's a favor I have for you: put your head between your legs, and KISS YOUR OWN ARSE!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Kakashi and Sakura grabbed Naruto by the arms while Shizune held William back, to prevent the two men from killing each other.

Tsunade slammed her fist on her desk, and intervened.

"Naruto! William! That's enough!"

Naruto and William eventually calmed down while Naruto pouted and William glared at him.

"Do we have to work with William? Can't it be somebody else?" Naruto groaned.

"No. He's your new teammate and that's that. Anyway, since William is the new member of Team Kakashi, I have an important mission for you. It's not only just because he's your teammate, but you could say it's also a bodyguard mission. One that's very important," Tsunade said.

Naruto moaned.

"Look, I came here to go on a mission and train; not to babysit someone," he complained.

Sakura punched Naruto.

"Ow! Sakura!"

"Will you shut up for a few minutes so Lady Tsunade and William could speak?!"

"Fine," Naruto muttered.

Sakura gave a nervous look to Tsunade and William.

"I'm sorry, William. Naruto can be kind of an idiot sometimes."

"I AM NOT AN IDIOT!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura punched Naruto again.

Now, it was Kakashi's turn to speak.

"Sorry about that. Please continue."

_"This is going to be tougher than I thought," _William mused.

"William? Tell them about the mission," Tsunade stated as William told Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi about the mission.

"Right now, my people and I are about to go at war with the English. We are fighting for Scotland's freedom because King Edward "Longshanks," the king of England has invaded and conquered my land, following the death of Scotland's King Alexander III who died without a son. Because of how cruel Longshanks is, he wants to claim the throne of Scotland for himself, but we, the Scottish, will not stand for it. In a few months from now, we are fighting the English at Stirling, and I need your help."

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Um, why do we have to kill this "Longshanks" guy?"

William looked at Naruto who asked the question.

"I mean, I understand that you're fighting for Scotland's freedom and all, but is there a reason why you have to go after him?" he wondered.

William sighed. He immediately thought of his father Malcolm, his brother John, and wife Murron who were all killed by the English a long time ago.

"My family and wife were all killed by the English. Since their deaths, I've longed for revenge for them, which is another reason why I want to kill Longshanks," William replies.

Sakura's face grew solemn as she remembered something she told Sasuke about revenge on the night he left Konoha almost four years ago:

_~ Flashback (1293)... ~_

_Sasuke was about to leave Konoha to go to Orochimaru for power so he could kill his older brother Itachi for killing their family, the Uchiha Clan._

_Sakura tried to stop him, and at one point during their conversation, she even told him this:_

_"I know about your clan, Sasuke. I do. But seeking revenge, that won't bring anyone happiness. Nobody at all. Not you... and not me."_

_Sakura remembered these words that Sasuke would say to her, and they'd stay with her forever:_

_"I'm traveling a path the rest of you can't follow. I know that the four of us have worked together. And for a while I thought I could take that road instead. But in the end... I've decided on revenge. That's always been my reason for living."_

_~ End of flashback... ~_

_"So. You long for revenge too, don't you, William?" _Sakura questioned herself.

"Sakura," came the voice of Naruto.

"Oh. Yes?" Sakura responded.

"Grandma Tsunade's about to give us the mission," Naruto said.

In his mind, William snickered when he heard Naruto call Tsunade "Grandma Tsunade."

Tsunade started to speak again.

"There is a catch to his mission, however: You have to make sure that William doesn't die, otherwise the mission will be a failure. Understood?"

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William all nodded their heads.

"You are dismissed," Tsunade said.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura walked out of her office. Before William was about to follow them, Tsunade told him:

"Oh, and William?"

William looked back at Tsunade.

"Yes?"

"Good luck on your journey and look after Team Kakashi."

William nodded.

"I will."

He followed Team Kakashi close behind, and they were on their way to the village gates to begin their mission.

* * *

><p>While they were walking around the village, people started to notice William walking right beside Team Kakashi.<p>

At one point, Ino Yamanaka, a girl who was Sakura's childhood friend and rival walked up to the quartet, and giggled when she saw William.

"Hey, Sakura. Who's that handsome man over there?"

Sakura looked at Ino and back at William.

"Oh. Uh, Ino, this is William Wallace. William, this is my childhood friend and rival Ino Yamanaka," Sakura said.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, lassie," William voiced with a smile as he kissed Ino's left hand which made her confused.

"Uh, "lassie"?"

"Oh. He's Scottish. Let's just say lassie is a way of calling you "Miss." " Sakura replied.

"Yeah, and he's Scotland's greatest hero! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, proudly.

"But, why is he here?" Ino questioned. So Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William explained the mission to her.

"Oh. I see. How long will you be gone, then?" she wondered.

"Hopefully not too long. I'm guessing maybe after The Battle Of Stirling, we should return around that time," Naruto responded.

"Oh. Alright. Well, good luck, and be careful," Ino cautioned.

"We will," Sakura stated as she left with William, Naruto and Kakashi while Ino sighed in a fangirlish way, already starting to fall in love with William.

Meanwhile, as the quartet continued their walk, they came across Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru.

"Hey, Sakura. Who's your new boyfriend?" Kiba teased, referring to William, which made Sakura slap him.

"Ow!"

"For your information, Kiba, William Wallace is NOT my boyfriend. We just met a few minutes ago. Therefore, we are only friends," Sakura declared.

"Okay, okay. Sorry," Kiba apologized.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a mission to go to," Sakura confirmed.

"What's it about?" Kiba inquired as William explained the mission.

"Huh. Sounds like a dangerous mission. Well, good luck," Kiba warned as Team Kakashi continued their walk.

Later, they came across two men who had bowl haircuts and bushy eyebrows.

"Sakura! Who is your training partner?" the young man named Rock Lee quizzed.

"Who are these weirdos?" William scoffed.

"You dare misjudge the handsome devil of the Hidden Leaf Village?!" Lee angered.

"Well you are," William remarked.

"In that case, you don't know anything about the power of youth!" Might Guy bellowed.

""Power of youth"?" William catechized.

"Yes! The power of youth! Lee and I live for it! We breathe it! It's a part of us! So how dare you not know what the power of youth is!" Guy shouted.

William rolled his eyes in disgust.

"William, this is Rock Lee and Might Guy. Or as I like to call them, "Bushy Brow" and "Bushier Eyebrows" Naruto pointed out.

"Hey!" Lee and Guy both cried in unision.

"Come on, Naruto. We're wasting time. We have to go to Stirling before it's too late," William demanded.

"Stirling?" Lee instituted.

"Aye. It's in Scotland. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi are helping me fight for Scotland's freedom," William said.

"Well, in that case, Lee and I wish you the best of luck, and let the power of youth explode in your burning eyes!" Guy proclaimed which made William do a facepalm.

_"I'm surrounded by two buffoons who talk about the "power of youth." Not only that, but they're also idiots. Oh, God, __k__ill me now," _William sniveled to himself with a sigh.

"Come on, William. Let's go," Sakura told him as he followed her, Naruto and Kakashi to the gates outside of the Leaf village.

Along the way, William met some of their other friends – such as Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Kurenai Yuhi, Tenten, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Asuma Sarutobi and his nephew Konohamaru, and Iruka Umino. Jiraiya was out on a mission of his own.

Later, Naruto went to Ichiraku Ramen with Kakashi, Sakura and William one last time, fearing that he (Naruto) might die in the war with the Scottish against the English.

"Itakadimasu!" Naruto cried out as he slurped his ramen hungrily.

"You eat like a pig, Naruto," William muttered.

"What did you say?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," William lied.

"O... K...," Naruto voiced as he went back to eating his ramen, and bid goodbye to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame.

* * *

><p>Finally, as William was about to depart Konoha with Team Kakashi, a girl called out to Naruto with a soft-spoken voice.<p>

"Um, Naruto?"

Naruto turned around, and saw Hinata, the cousin of Neji right by the village gates.

She had long dark-blue hair with a hime-style haircut, white pupiless eyes, and wore a loose fitting, long-sleeved jacket, lavender and cream zip-up jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armor with navy blue pants and black, low-heeled sandals.

"Hinata. What are you doing here?" Naruto wondered.

"Well, I heard about your mission to protect William-sama during his fight against the English and for Scotland's freedom. So, I came to say goodbye, in case you don't return. Also, I have a present for William-sama," Hinata said as she looked at William.

"A present? For me?" William asked.

"Y-Yes," Hinata stuttered as she gave William a shield.

"A shield?" William inquired.

"I-I found this at a weapons shop, and thought of you, because you have a sword on your back. Here. Take it," Hinata told William as she gave the shield to him.

"Wow. Thanks," William complimented as Hinata nodded at him with a smile. "Oh, and Hinata? Please, just call me William."

"Naruto...," Hinata spoke, looking back at Naruto.

"Yes?" Naruto answered back.

"Listen. I know you're going to be gone for quite some time during the war in Scotland, but I want to tell you something really important. I've been waiting all my life to say this, since the day we met as kids. I used to always cry and give up… I made many wrong turns… But you… You helped me find the right path… I always chased after you… I wanted to catch up to you… I wanted to walk beside you all the time… I just wanted to be with you… You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! The truth is that... I love you, Naruto. I've always loved you," Hinata admitted her feelings to Naruto who was stunned as she started to kiss him.

As William watched Hinata and Naruto kiss, he remembered Murron, the woman he loved so much ever since they were kids.

_Flashback..._

_After Murron asked William if he wanted to marry her, he happily responded:_

_"I love you, always have. I want to marry you."_

_He kissed her, and she accepted his proposal._

_End of flashback..._

"William? William," the voice of Kakashi interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh. Yes, Kakashi?" William replied.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi wondered.

"Aye. I'm fine. I was just spacing out a little," William reassured him.

After Hinata and Naruto stopped kissing, Hinata, with tears in her eyes hugged Naruto and told him:

"Naruto. I fear I'm never going to see you again.'

"Don't worry. I'll be okay," Naruto consoled her.

"How do you know that? What if you come back home dead?" Hinata asked.

"Like I said, don't worry. I'll come back for you. I promise. Don't forget: I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!" Naruto proclaimed, to which William was awed by his determination.

Hinata hugged Naruto and kissed him one last time before leaving for Scotland.

* * *

><p>Once Team Kakashi got on the boat heading for Scotland, everyone was waving their goodbyes to Naruto.<p>

"Good luck, Naruto!" Ino cried.

"Be careful!" Lee voiced.

"Take care of yourself!" Konohamaru called out to him.

_"I hope you don't do anything reckless, Naruto," _Iruka thought to himself.

_"Naruto. Sakura. Kakashi. Please come back with William alive... and be careful," _Tsunade said to herself.

Just then, an emotional Hinata ran up to the docks with Neji by her side and waved goodbye to Naruto one last time who waved back at her.

_"Naruto. Be careful," _Hinata cried to herself as Neji hugged his sobbing cousin.

As soon as Konoha started disappearing from their sight, Sakura thought of Sasuke.

_"Sasuke..."_

* * *

><p><em>As we were leaving for Scotland, there were a lot of questions that went through my mind.<em>

_Would we survive this battle?_

_Would we die?_

_Once our mission is over and we went home, would it be the last time we'd ever see William again?_

_Would William finally be able to get his revenge on Longshanks?_

_Would William's dream for freedom come true?_

_And most of all..._

_Would I ever see Sasuke again?_

_Even though Sasuke never went with us on this journey, because of Orochimaru, I still felt as if Sasuke was still here._

_Once Lady Tsunade told us that Sasuke would be replaced by William in Team Kakashi, I was a little sad and shocked about it, but I eventually came to terms with it._

_Even though Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I barely knew William at that time, I felt like I've known him forever._

_This wasn't just a simple mission that Lady Tsunade assigned us to, but it was also the beginning of a long journey._

_And William __Wallace was right by our side through it all..._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Wow. This is a really long chapter. Now, for those of you who are wondering where the story takes place (because I forgot to put this at the beginning of the chapter), here are the timelines for the movie "Braveheart" and animemanga "Naruto." (*SPOILER ALERT!*)**

**Braveheart Timeline:**  
><strong>After Murron has been killed, and before The Battle Of Stirling.<strong>  
><strong>NarutoNaruto Shippuden Timeline:**  
><strong>After the Gaara Kazekage Rescue Arc, and before the Sasuke And Sai Arc, which takes place before Sai and Yamato join Team Kakashi to rescue Sasuke.<strong>

**Oh, and to anyone who's Scottish, I'm sorry if I offended you in any way at that part where Naruto called William's kilt a dress. Don't get me wrong. I love Scotland, and I highly respect you, so please don't get mad at me. Now, for those of you who are wondering where the story takes place, here are the timelines for the movie "Braveheart" and anime/manga "Naruto." (*SPOILER ALERT!*)**

**(Note: Well, that's it for the chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it, and please R&R (read & review)! :D P.S. Oh, and before anyone says anything about Hinata's confession to Naruto, yes I know she doesn't say that until the Invasion Of Pain Arc. I just thought it fit so well with that scene in the fanfic, so I just had to put the quote in there. One more thing. When William tells Naruto to "put his head between his legs and kiss his own arse," that's actually a reference to the movie where he said those exact same words to one of the soldiers at Stirling. XD)**


	3. Chapter 2: Formation: New Team Kakashi

Freedom. Chapter 2: Formation: New Team Kakashi.

**(Note: The title of the chapter is named after the Naruto Shippuden episode where Sai and Yamato join Team Kakashi for the first time.)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p>As soon as Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and William boarded the ship leading to Scotland, William introduced Team Kakashi to his friends Hamish, Campbell who was Hamish's father, Stephen and Morrison. However, while Campbell, Morrison and Stephen understood why Team Kakashi had to protect William during the war, Hamish was a little baffled when it came to Sakura.<p>

"William, remind me again why a girl like Sakura is joining our army. She's not even a knight like us," Hamish objected.

"I told you before, Hamish, and I'll say it again: because Sakura's a medical ninja, she will become the healer of the army. Have you not forgotten that she, Naruto and Kakashi have been sent on a mission to guard me?" William inquired.

"Of course not!" Hamish exclaimed. "It's just that... you usually don't see women fighting in wars. I guess I'm just not used to it. I mean, here we are, about to go at war with the English. It's an all-man battle, and then this girl shows up making the situation a little awkward. I mean, what if she dies?"

William put a hand on Hamish's shoulder.

"Don't worry, she won't. I trust her, Naruto and Kakashi. In fact, I trust all of you. Look. Hamish, you're my best friend. Just believe in me and everything will be okay," said William.

Hamish nodded his head.

"Alright."

William walked to Sakura and Stephen who was flirting with her.

"So. Do you have a boyfriend?" Stephen asked Sakura.

An image of Sasuke came to Sakura's mind.

"Yes," she lied.

"Oh."

Stephen looked at William who was behind Sakura and smirked.

"Is it William?"

While Wiliam's face turned red, Sakura blushed.

"What?! No! Look. Like I said before, William and I are just friends. I could never fall in love with him _that _fast just right after Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I met him," Sakura admitted.

"Sure. Whatever you say, Sakura. Who knows? Maybe the almighty god Cupid might shoot a bow and arrow on the two of you and make you fall in love with one another," Stephen voiced as he began to chuckle.

"Oh shut up, Stephen!" William shouted.

"William and Sakura, sitting a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Stephen teased.

"I said shut up!" William yelled as he punched Stephen.

"Oh come on, guys! I was just kidding!" Stephen tried to explain.

"Doesn't matter," Sakura answered.

"William? Sakura?" came the voice of Naruto who appeared in front of William and Sakura.

"Yes?" Sakura replied.

"What is it, Naruto?" William wondered.

"Kakashi-sensei wants to have an important meeting with us. Come on. We shouldn't keep him waiting," Naruto spoke.

"Okay," Sakura answered as she and William followed Naruto to go meet Kakashi, leaving Stephen alone.

* * *

><p>The trio (Naruto, Sakura and William) found Kakashi sitting at that the bow of the ship reading his book (Icha Icha), with the wind blowing in his hair.<p>

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei? We're here," the voice of Naruto interrupted Kakashi who put his book down.

"Oh. Right. Anyway, Naruto, Sakura, I have something important to tell you. Remember back when we first became Team 7 and Sasuke was a part of the team at the time, we had to introduce ourselves?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Naruto replied.

"Well, since William is a part of the team now, I thought we should do the introductions over," Kakashi replied.

"But, Kakashi-sensei, we already know you," Sakura said, scratching her head in confusion.

"Yes, Sakura. You and Naruto know me, but William doesn't know us. The reason why I'd like to do the introductions over is because I wanted to show William how it's done," Kakashi stated as he cleared his throat. "So, let's start, shall we?"

_"Deja vu," _Sakura thought to herself.

"Naruto, you go first," Kakashi suggested.

"Okay! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm 16 years old, but I'll be 17 on October 10, and I was born in 1280 in Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen that Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop back in Konoha. Not only is eating ramen one of my favorite hobbies, but I also love pulling pranks and watering plants. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then Konoha, no, the whole world will stop disrespecting me and start treating like I'm somebody. Somebody important! Who knows? Maybe William and the rest of the Scottish will respect me too! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Alright. Next?" Kakashi asked.

"I think I'll go next. I'm William Wallace. I'm 27 years old, and I was born in 1270 in the city of Elderslie, which is located in Scotland, my home country," William spoke.

"Wait. You're 27?" Naruto interrupted William with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Got a problem?" William responded, coldly.

"N-No," Naruto said as he sweatdropped.

To Naruto, it felt weird that an older man like William who was four years younger than Kakashi and ten years younger than Naruto and Sakura would become their teammate. It was almost as if Naruto and Sakura had two senseis instead of one.

"Anyway, as I was saying, my hobbies are spending time with my friends Hamish, Campell, Morrison and Stephen while daydreaming about my wife who, like I said before, was killed by the English a long time ago. As for my future dream, I hope that everybody all around the world, including the Scottish and myself, can all live and believe in freedom," William proclaimed, proudly.

"Hmm... interesting. Okay, Sakura, it's your turn," Kakashi uttured.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. My birthday is March 28, and I'm 17 years old. Like Naruto, I was also born in 1280 in Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. My hobbies are playing trivia games, and memorizing new material for my medical studies. My dream for the future is...," Sakura responded as she got quiet all of a sudden.

"Well?" William asked.

Sakura thought of Sasuke, because her dream for the future was to get Sasuke back from Orochimaru, and to help Sasuke get revenge on Itachi.

"Sakura?" William called her name, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" Sakura replied.

"What is your future dream?" William wondered.

"My dream for the future is to become a splendid and strong kunoichi like Lady Tsunade," Sakura determined with a smile on her face.

Secretly, Kakashi and Naruto both knew that Sakura was lying, because they knew she was thinking of Sasuke.

"Alright. At last, it's my turn. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I was born on September 15, 1266. I'm 30 right now, but I'll be 31 in September. Hmm. So far, I don't have any dreams for the future," Kakashi mentioned.

Naruto and Sakura remembered those exact same words he said to them when they (along with Sasuke) first met him and became Team 7.

"Huh? What do you mean you don't have any dreams for the future? Shouldn't everybody have dreams?" William inquired.

"It's always been like this. He said to us when Naruto, Sasuke and I first met him and became Team 7," Sakura whispered to William.

"Ah," William understood.

"As for my hobbies, I love reading the book series Icha Icha, also known as the Make-Out series that Jiraiya got me," Kakashi continued.

"Uh, "Make-Out Series?" What kind of name is that?" William questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey. It's Jiraiya's story. Not mine," Kakashi said as he started to get excited about the book series by acting like a fanboy. "It's got it all, William: love, passion, excitement, adventure, drama, and so much more. You should read it."

"Uh... thanks for the offer, Kakashi, but no thanks," William declined.

"What?!" Kakashi shrieked.

"Sorry, but, I'm not sure if it would be my type of book, just by you describing it in a fanboyish way," William declined.

Kakashi pouted.

"Anyway, now that we're done, maybe we should get to know William for a little bit, don't you think?" Kakashi suggested.

"Okay," Naruto replied as Kakashi walked back to the deck of the ship and continued reading his book, while quietly grumbling about William not wanting to read Icha Icha.

"So, um, William. What's it like in Scotland?" Sakura quizzed. William put a finger on his chin and thought of Scotland.

"Well, there's lakes, mountains, rivers, kings, queens, princes, princesses, knights, pretty much everything," he said.

"Are there any ninjas?" Naruto cathecized.

"No. I don't think you'd see ninjas in Scotland, Naruto. However, since all three of you will be with me during this journey, you might as well be the first three ninjas in our land," William aforementioned.

"Do they have any kunais? Like you know, jutsus and ninja tools?" Naruto inquired.

"Jutsus?" William queried.

Naruto used the Tranformation Jutsu and surprisingly looked like William.

"Oh my god," William was speechless.

"Hey, look at me, I'm William Wallace, a Scotsman who dreams of freedom," Naruto mimicked William.

"Stop it. It's not funny," William retorted with an irritated look on his face as Naruto turned back into himself.

"Come on. I was just joking, William," Naruto whined.

"If you do that to the Scots, I swear I will kick your arse, Naruto Uzumaki. Trust me. It won't be pretty when that happens," William threatened.

"Okay," Naruto whimpered.

"Besides, I bet you don't even know anything about freedom," William snapped.

"I do TOO know everything about freedom!" Naruto yelled with angry white eyes, and made a fist as the two of them had an electric spark that passed between them.

"Hey! Knock it off, you two!" Sakura cried.

William and Naruto stopped their bickering and looked at Sakura.

"Look, Lady Tsunade said that you two have to get along no matter what," Sakura affirmed.

"Yeah, but he called my kilt a dress!" William shouted, pointing a finger at Naruto.

"And he told me to put my head between my legs and kiss my own butt!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at William.

The two men were about to beat each other up, but Sakura stood in between them and put one hand on William's chest, and the other hand on Naruto's chest.

"Cut it out! Fighting like this won't help us as a team, now would it?!" Sakura screamed.

Naruto and William stopped fighting.

"Now come on. Can't we all just be nice to each other for once? I hope you won't be like this when we get to Scotland."

Both men sighed.

"Fine," Naruto complained.

"Whatever," William muttered.

Sakura sighed in relief.

"What's going on here?" the voice of Kakashi asked as he saw Sakura with William and Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't want to work with William. He's mean," Naruto whined.

"Hey! I'm not mean! You wouldn't like to see me when I'm angry now, would you?!" a feisty William yelled.

"Kakashi-sensei, how much did you hear?" Sakura wondered.

"Pretty much when they started arguing. Now look. Sakura's right. Whether you like it or not, Naruto, we have to keep William alive during this mission no matter what. I mean, what if he dies during the battle? You wouldn't like that, would you?" Kakashi lectured.

Naruto's angry eyes softened and turned to sadness.

"No..."

"Good," Kakashi said with a smile.

_"__This is gonna be a long journey. I just hope that Naruto and William __won't__ fight like this throughout the entire mission," _Sakura thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Later that day, sunset came, and Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William were still standing at the bow of the ship.<p>

Kakashi told Campbell to do something.

"Since William is now a member of Team Kakashi, we're going to be taking a picture with him in it," Kakashi voiced as he looked at Campbell who had a camera on top of a tripod. "Campbell? Would you do the honors?"

In unison, deep inside their thoughts, they groaned to themselves:

_"Do I have to take a picture with him?"_

"Alright. You ready?" Campbell put his finger on top of the camera. "One... two... three." he pressed the button and the camera flashed.

A picture of Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William appeared out of the camera and Campbell gave it to Kakashi.

"Well, here you go," Campbell stated with a smile.

Kakashi put the picture in four picture frames: One was for him, one for William, one for Naruto, and one for Sakura.

"I love the background in this picture. It's so pretty," Naruto commented.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed.

It was then she realized that Naruto and William's rivalry was just like Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke. Only except Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke have been together since they were kids. They weren't even around when William was born in 1270.  
>Sakura remembered the day that Naruto and Sasuke were arguing about not wanting to be in the Team 7 picture when it was taken. At the time, the three of them were 12 years old, and Kakashi was 26. Kakashi and Sakura were the only ones smiling in the picture, while Naruto and Sasuke gave dirty looks to each other.<p>

However, when it came to the new Team Kakashi picture with William replacing Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, William and Kakashi kept their cool, and smiled. But unlike the Team 7 photo where Sakura had that big fangirlish smile of hers because of crush on Sasuke, she did not grin like that in the picture with William, Naruto and Kakashi right beside her.

* * *

><p>Later that night, after Naruto and Kakashi had gone to bed, the only people that were awake were William who was conversing with the Scots about the upcoming battle with the English at Stirling, and Sakura, who was sitting alone in her cabin looking out at the stars and moon.<p>

She was looking at the two picture frames of Team 7 and the new Team Kakashi; as s if she was comparing them.

Even after William was declared the replacement for Sasuke and new member of Team Kakashi, deep down, Sakura missed Sasuke terribly.

She remembered confessing her feelings to Sasuke on the night he left Konoha.

_~ Flashback (1293)... ~_

_"Sasuke! I'm so in love with you, I can't even stand it! If you would only be with me! I promise! I'd never let you regret it! Every day will be a joy! I can give you happiness! I'll do anything for you, Sasuke! So please! I'm begging you, don't walk away! I'll even help get your revenge! I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, I swear! So stay here... with me. And if you can't... then take me with you, Sasuke." Sakura pleaded._

_After Sasuke told Sakura that she was annoying, before he left, the last words he spoke to her was:_

_"Sakura. Thank you for everything."_

_As soon Sasuke knocked out Sakura, he placed her on a bench, and vanished into the night, leaving Konoha behind forever._

_~ End of flashback...~_

Sakura also remembered the promise that Naruto made to her when he, Shikamaru, Neji, Choji and Kiba were all sent on a mission to retrieve Sasuke.

_~ Flashback (1293)...~_

_With a grin on his face, Naruto gave Sakura the thumbs up, and proudly proclaimed:_

_"Don't you worry one bit! I'm gonna bring Sasuke back! I promise that on my life, Sakura!"_

_~ End of flashback...~_

Sadly, although Naruto begged Sasuke to return back to Konoha, Sasuke refused to do so as the two boys fought at the Valley Of The End.

During the battle, their jutsus clashed, leaving Naruto knocked unconscious by Sasuke's blow. Afterward, Sasuke went to Orochimaru, and Naruto felt like he broke his promise to Sakura by not bringing Sasuke back to her.

Once Sasuke came to her mind, a tear slid down Sakura's cheek, and she ended up crying in her sleep, but quietly.

Later that night, after everyone except for William went to bed, he snuck into Sakura's cabin, covered her up with a blanket, kissed her forehead, and whispered in her ear:

"Good night, Sakura."

Afterward, he looked at Naruto and Kakashi sleeping in their cabins, and went to his own cabin.

William looked at the nighttime sky, and thought of Murron.

He remembered the day when they first met as kids at his father and brother's funeral. Murron gave William a thistle, and he kept it by his side all these years.

He looked at the handkerchief that she gave him at their wedding, and images of the two of them spending time together came to William's mind.

Before falling asleep, William put his hands together, and whispered in a prayer:

"Murron... you may not be here with me, but I need your strength to help me during this war. I miss you and I love you."

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: I'm sorry if the first few chapters are kind of boring, but I think in about two or three chapters (maybe even a few more) from now, the chapter with The Battle Of Stirling is going to take place very soon, so that will be exciting. Well, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D P.S. One more thing. If you're wondering why I said that Sakura is 17, it's because that's how old she was when Sai and Yamato first joined Team Kakashi because the episode aired in English on May 3, 2010. Also, if you're wondering where I got the part where Naruto and Sakura talk about their hobbies, I kind of got it from their biographies on a website called Narutopedia which is the, you guessed it, Naruto version of Wikipedia. In case anyone's wondering, yes, the real William Wallace was born in Elderslie, which is why in the fanfic, he talks about his birthplace.)<strong>


	4. Chapter 3: History Of Scotland

Freedom. Chapter 3: History Of Scotland.

**(Note: Before I start with the chapter, I wanted to show you two interesting novels about the real William Wallace. One is called "The Forest Laird: A Tale Of William Wallace" by Jack Whyte (and yes, that's how he spells his last name), and the other is called "The Wallace" by Nigel Tranter. I'm currently reading "The Forest Laird" right now on my iPhone through iBooks. It's pretty interesting so far. After I read that, then I'm going to read "The Wallace." Here are the summaries of "The Forest Laird," and "The Wallace.")**

**"The Forest Laird: A Tale Of William Wallace."**  
><strong>Author: Jack Whyte.<strong>  
><strong>Published: September 1, 2010.<strong>

**Summary:**  
><strong>"In the pre-dawn hours of August 24th, 1305, in London's Smithfield Prison, the outlaw William Wallace—hero of all the Scots and deadly enemy of King Edward of England—sits awaiting the dawn, when he is to be hanged and then drawn and quartered. This brutal sundering of his body is the revenge of the English. Wallace is visited by a Scottish priest who has come to hear his last confession, a priest who knows Wallace like a brother. Wallace's confession—the tale that follows—is all the more remarkable because it comes from real life.<strong>

**We follow Wallace through his many lives—as outlaw and fugitive, hero and patriot, rebel and kingmaker. His exploits and escapades, desperate struggles and victorious campaigns are all here, as are the high ideals and fierce patriotism that drove him to abandon the people he loved to save his country."**

**(Note: Now, for some reason, although the summary says that William Wallace died on August 24, 1305, I learned that it was actually August 23, not August 24. Correct me if I'm wrong though. Anyway, here is the summary of "The Wallace," another novel about William Wallace.)**

**"The Wallace."**  
><strong>Author: Nigel Tranter (who sadly passed away in 2000 at the age of 90)<strong>  
><strong>Published: 1975.<strong>

**Summary:**  
><strong>"At the end of the 13th century Scotland was suffering under the tyranny of the English and Edward Plantagenet. The eponymous hero swears to rid his land of their cruelty and to restore Robert the Bruce to the throne."<strong>

**(Note: So yeah. That's pretty much all I have to say, but for now, please enjoy the chapter! :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p>As night turned into day, the rays of the sun peered through the window of William's cabin and shone on his face while he was sleeping.<p>

Then before he woke up, a sailor shouted:

"Land ho! We've arrived in Scotland!"

William awoke with a start, saw that it was morning, stretched, and got out of bed as he left his cabin and closed the door.

He went outside on deck where he saw Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi standing with Hamish, Campbell, Morrison and Stephen.

"Wow. So this is Scotland," Naruto spoke in amazement. "It's awesome!"

"Aye, but we're only on the docks. Trust me. Once we get to the village, then you'll really like it," William said.

"Really?" Sakura asked in wonder.

"Come on. I'll show you around. Hamish, Campbell, Stephen, Morrison. As soon as we get to the village, I want you and the Scots to meet me at the campsite," William ordered.

"Whoa whoa whoa wait. Where are you going?" Hamish questioned William.

"I'd thought I might want to give Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto a tour. Don't worry. We'll be back as soon as possible," William replied as he went with Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto into the grasslands where the mountains were.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day...<em>

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William were all sitting in a field of grass, having a coversation about Scotland.

"So, William. We understand that there's kings, queens, mountains, lakes, rivers, knights in Scotland, and everything else, but what more can you tell us about it?" Naruto inquired.

"Well, it all started thirteen years ago, in 1284. I was only fourteen. Alexander III, the King Of Scotland, who was crowned king on July 6, 1249, wanted the Estates to recognize his granddaughter Margaret, the "Maid Of Norway" as the heir to the throne, because his other children died, leaving the people to question who would become the next king of Scotland after Alexander III was dead. But then, a year later, in 1285, Alexander III married a woman named Yolande de Dreux on November 1. Then, tragedy struck. As he was going to see his new wife because her birthday was the next day, Alexander III fell off of his horse and died of his injuries. Before that, he spent the night at Edinburgh Castle, celebrating his second marriage, and also had a meeting with the royal advisors who told him not to travel all the way to Fife just to see her, but he did so anyway, not to mention it was also a stormy night. The next morning, after he was found dead by his advisors, his neck was broken, and thus a war between the Scottish and English began. It's still going on as we speak," William explained.

"But, what does this have to do with Longshanks?" Sakura asked. William looked at her. "I mean, is he really that evil?"

William nodded.

"He's more than that. He's nothing but a cruel tyrant, which is why once we win our victory against the English, I want to kill him myself," William declared with a glare on his face, and clenched wrists.

"But, you are a part of Team Kakashi, William. Remember that. You're not going to be the only one killing Longshanks, because we'll be there by your side," Kakashi voiced.

"Thank you, Kakashi," William replied as Kakashi smiled at him. "So. Do you have kings, queens, princes and princesses in your world?"

"Well, kind of. We have kages," Naruto responded.

"Kages?" William questioned in confusion with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh. Kages are sort of like leaders in our land. You could say they're kind of like kings and queens. Remember how I said the other day that I wanted to become Hokage? Well, let's just say that's my way of saying that I want to become the King of Konoha," Naruto answered.

"Ah," William realized.

"Oh, and remember how the other day I did the Transformation Jutsu and pretended I was you?" Naruto catechized.

"Aye," William groaned.

"First off, I want to say I'm sorry about that," Naruto apologized.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again," William spoke in a serious tone.

"I won't," Naruto sighed and continued talking. "Second, jutsus are kind of like techniques. Let's just say that they're more powerful than using a sword and shield."

"Well, when we fight the English, since there are no ninjas in our world, you won't be able to use your ninja techniques. Instead...," William said as he took out three swords and shields for Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. "You'll be using swords and shields."

He smirked at them.

"Are we going to be training now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, since we've arrived in Scotland, I thought I might want to show you around first. Besides, don't you think you should rejuvenate from your trip?" William suggested.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Naruto said, disappointedly.

"However, we have to watch out for the English. Because I killed one of their nobles who murdered my wife, they want to kill me for revenge. That's why Tsunade said that you have to keep me alive during this war," William stated, which made Naruto (whose expression turned to sadness) ask:

"So then, once our mission is completed, and after you and the Scottish win your freedom against the English and we kick Longshanks' butt, then Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I won't see you again, huh, William?"

"Look, Naruto. Just because I'm going to kill Longshanks and the English once the Scottish And English War is over after his death doesn't mean I'm never going to see you again. After all, I am a part of Team Kakashi, am I not?" William inquired.

"But, because you're a member of Team Kakashi, then that means you have to come back with us to Konoha, William," Naruto said.

"But Naruto, if I end up becoming a hero to Scotland and go to Konoha to live with you, Kakashi and Sakura, then the people of Scotland and my friends will be sad because they won't have a hero to watch over them. I mean, if I leave now, then who will protect Scotland from the English and Longshanks?"

Then, Naruto had an idea.

"Hey. I know. After our mission is over, then Grandma Tsunade will send some ninjas to assist you in case you do have another war with the English. Who knows? Maybe someday if I become Hokage, and if you not only become a knight, but also the King Of Scotland, then Konoha will be your ally." Naruto smiled at William. "After all, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Right," William agreed with a nod when he realized something. "Wait. Did you just say that I could become the King Of Scotland, Naruto?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It was just a suggestion. You said you had a dream for freedom, so if you did become king, then we'd imagine you giving s speech about freedom before you are crowned king."

"Aye, but, I'm not a king. I was actually born the son of a nobleman," William replied scratching his head.

"Oh," Naruto stated. "Well, just think about what I said, okay?"

"Okay," William answered, as he changed the subject by focusing on the upcoming Battle Of Stirling. "Now, about the Battle Of Stirling. It will be taking place on September 11, but before that, we have to prepare. Since I've given the three of you each a sword and shield, I'm going to teach you how to use them. However, there is a catch. You can't use any of your jutsus, with the exception of Sakura being the healer of the army. In other words, all three of you will be trained by me. You're not going to be the only people training. Hamish, Stephen, Campbell, Morrison and the rest of the Scottish will also be training too. So don't expect me to go easy on you."

Naruto gulped.

"Wait. Since Kakashi-sensei's our team leader, I thought he was going to train the three of us. Not the other way around," Sakura perplexed.

"I know. But like I said before, Sakura, all three of you will be trained by me. So get ready for some intense training. We start tomorrow. For now, let's take the rest of the day off and enjoy ourselves while we still can," said William as he was about to continue walking with Team Kakashi until Naruto voiced:

"William. Wait."

William turned to look at Naruto.

"How long will we be training?"

"For three months," William replied.

"Three months?!" Naruto shrieked with anime bulging white eyes.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sakura groaned.

"Well, rules are rules... unless you want me to make the training longer and we'll delay our battle with the English at Stirling," William warned.

Sakura sighed.

"No. Alright, fine. We'll be really serious about our training."

"Good," William voiced as he left with Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to explore the rest of Scotland.

When the sun went down, and the moon appeared, the quartet headed back to William's camp and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Scotland was a beautiful place, just like how William described it.<em>

_There were lakes, mountains, rivers, kings, queens, princes, princesses, knights, pretty much everything._

_The first time that Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I set foot in Scotland, we were blown away, especially me._

_Scotland reminded me so much of Konoha._

_Only except there weren't any ninjas there, but just the three of us – Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and me._

_To me, Scotland felt like Heaven. I was completely mesmerized by its beautiful landscape._

_I could almost feel like I actually lived there, as if I was there with William forever._

_Although we ended up staying with William in Scotland for eight years, deep down, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei and I were homesick._

_I missed Konoha, but most of all, I truly missed Sasuke... even though he broke my heart and betrayed Konoha._

_Oh, Sasuke. If you were here right beside us in Scotland at the time, I know that you would have loved it here._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Hey guys. I just wanted to apologize that it took so long to submit the chapter, but other than life getting in the way, I was also experiencing some technical difficulties with my computer today. Long story short, I'm getting a new flashdrive because the one I have (which was working just fine earlier today) now is kind of defective. But don't worry. I have all my stuff in a back-up folder. Aside from that, before I started working on this story, I actually did some research on the real William Wallace's life. It was not just about me re-watching "Braveheart," (to try get historically accurate even though I've seen the movie a thousand times, maybe even more than that), but I also watched documentaries about him, and they were all pretty interesting. There's also a documentary that's actually on the "Braveheart" Blu-Ray DVD called "Tales Of William Wallace" which is in the special features. Sadly, I don't have that DVD, but I have the original DVD... although I want to get Braveheart on Blu-Ray. Anyway, in this chapter, yes I put some stuff about King Alexander III, which is why the chapter's called "History Of Scotland." In about two chapters from now (I think), we will finally get to the Battle Of Stirling (which is one of my favorite parts and battles in the movie). Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review! Bye! :D)<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: It's The Training!

Freedom. Chapter 4: It's The Training!

**(Note: Yes, the title of this chapter is a reference to one of the songs of the original "Naruto" soundtrack. Enjoy. :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>The next day...<em>

Back at William's camp, Sakura was the first one to awaken, and left the tent only to find William training with Hamish, Stephen, Campbell, and Morrison training with the Scottish as they were preparing for the Battle Of Stirling.

Sakura walked up to William.

"Good morning, William," Sakura greeted him, which made William stop his training and looked at Sakura.

"Oh. Good morning, Sakura," William replied back. "Where's Naruto and Kakashi?"

"Oh, well, Naruto's still sleeping," Sakura said.

William scoffed in annoyance.

"Has he not forgotten what I told him yesterday about us preparing to fight the English at the Battle Of Stirling?"

"Well, let's just say Naruto can be kind of forgetful at times." Sakura stated with a weak chuckle as she anime sweatdropped.

"And Kakashi?" William inquired.

"I'm not sure where he is," Sakura lied.

_"As usual. Kakashi-sensei's always late. Especially when we're about to go __to__ war with the English," _Sakura mused to herself.

"Well go look for them, and tell Naruto to wake up," William demanded.

"Right," Sakura responded with a nod as she went back to William's camp and back inside the tent only to find Naruto snoring loudly while drooling in his sleep.

"Psst. Naruto," Sakura whispered in his ear while gently shaking his left shoulder.

"Alright, I did it, Pervy-Sage. You must be really proud of me for training so hard, huh? You owe me some ramen. You really owe me," Naruto mumbled while dreaming about his training with Jiraiya.

Sakura got annoyed and shouted with anime bulging white eyes:

"HEY YOU IDIOT! WAKE UP!"

Naruto panicked and immediately woke up right away only to look at Sakura.

"Oh. Good morning, Sakura. What are you doing here?"

"Naruto! Did you not forget that we're supposed to train with William for our fight against the English at Stirling, which is just four months away?!" Sakura yelled.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Naruto realized.

"If William was here right now, then he'd force you to wake up and yell at you! So hurry up and get dressed!" Sakura demanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto freaked out and immediately got dressed.

"Don't call me that," Sakura said, moving her head to the right side and saw William continuing his training with the Scottish.

* * *

><p>As soon as Naruto finished getting dressed, he and Sakura left the campsite and saw William still training.<p>

"William, we're here," Sakura voiced.

"Ah. Perfect." William noticed that Kakashi was not with Naruto and Sakura. "But, you didn't find Kakashi."

"Oh, well, it's always like this with him. Back in Konoha, whenever Sakura, Sasuke and I were getting ready to go on a mission with Kakashi-sensei, he'd show up late, and then come up with an excuse saying, "I got lost on the path of life," or something like that. On top of that, whenever he's late, you see him carrying his book around," Naruto spoke as he groaned while Sakura sighed.

* * *

><p><em>Five minutes later...<em>

"He's still not here," remarked an impatient William, still with Sakura, Naruto and the rest of the Scottish waiting for Kakashi. William was pacing the ground anxiously.

"Oh, you were looking from me?" came the voice of Kakashi as everyone saw him standing on top of a tree branch with his "Icha Icha" book in his left hand to which Naruto, Sakura and William glared at Kakashi.

"Where were you?" William growled.

"Oh. Sorry. This old lady needed help pushing her cart, but she got tired and the cart fell on the ground, so she asked me if I could help, to which I did," Kakashi said with a smile.

"LIAR LIAR! PANTS ON FIRE!" Naruto and Sakura screamed while pointing fingers at Kakashi.

William sighed and made a facepalm.

"Anyway, now that you're all here, it's time to do some training," William aforementioned.

"But, don't we have to do the bell test first?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The bell test?" William questioned in confusion.

"Yeah. It's something that the four of us did back when we became Team 7 and when Sasuke was still with us," Naruto mentioned, referring to him, Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke.

"So, let me get this straight. Because I'm the new replacement for this Sasuke guy, I have to do the bell test with you?" William quizzed.

"Well, kind of. We don't have to because we know you want to practice for the Battle Of Stirling with the English, William," Kakashi suggested.

"Okay. Besides, wouldn't the bell test kind of slow us down? I came here to train you three, not do a stupid bell test," William said in an annoyed tone.

"Hey! The bell test isn't stupid!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Look. Now's not the time to argue, Naruto. Besides, William's right. He said that we have to practice using our swords and shields. Like he told us before, we have to do some intense training, so be prepared," Kakashi told Naruto.

"Thank you, Kakashi," William agreed.

"Don't mention it," Kakashi smiled at William.

"Now then. Shall we begin?" William stated.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day...<em>

"As part of this training exercise, the three of you will be fighting Hamish, Stephen and Campbell," William voiced.

"But, why do we have to fight them? I thought we were fighting with you, William," Naruto said in confusion.

"You are, but I'll be coaching you. Kakashi, you fight Campbell. Naruto, you fight Hamish. Sakura, you fight Stephen," William remarked.

Stephen gave Sakura a smile, and whispered quietly:

"William and Sakura."

Sakura glared at Stephen because she knew that he was teasing her about her and William. Stephen began to whistle nervously.

"First thing's first. I'm going to teach you how to use a sword," William spoke. "You swing like this." William began to swing his sword.

"Oh. So it's kind of like swinging a kunai," Naruto understood.

"Right." William implied. "Anyway, go on. Try it."

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi began swinging their swords.

"There you go. Next, I'm going to teach you how to use a shield. To prevent yourself from getting hurt, use your shields while Campbell, Hamish and Stephen practice some attacks on you," William ordered as Hamish, Campbell and Stephen began attacking Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to which they guarded their attacks with their shields.

"Excellent. Now, I'm going to teach you how to block your attacks. Watch," William said as he told Hamish to fight him. Hamish was about to hit William with his sword, but he moved his head to the side and eventually blocked his attack. William looked back at Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. "Now you try it."

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura did the same thing to Campbell, Hamish and Stephen.

"Good. You can also swordfight while riding on horseback," William voiced as he got on his horse and began swinging his sword.

"Whoa! Awesome!" Naruto cried.

"Your turn," William called as he got off of his horse to which Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura repeated the technique that William taught them.

Afterwards, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura began fighting Campbell, Hamish and Stephen with the techniques that William taught them on how to use their swords and shields.

Eventually, Team Kakashi knocked Campbell, Hamish and Stephen to the ground, leaving them all worn out from the training.

"Perfect. Now, I'm going to give you a challenge," William added with a smirk.

"A challenge? Count me in!" Naruto exclaimed with the thumbs up and winked with his left eye.

William smirked at them and looked at his army of Scots.

"You're going to take down all the Scots," William declared.

"What?! William! Are you crazy?!" Hamish screamed.

"Look, Hamish. Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura aren't going to kill them," William looked at Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. "I just want to see how strong you are. They won't die, though, so you don't have to worry about their injuries. Just pretend that they're the English."

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"But, you guys are Scottish. That doesn't make any sense," Naruto said.

"I know we're not the English, but this is what war is going to be like, so get used to it. Look, Naruto. Pretend you're in my shoes, and you want to get revenge on someone who killed your family and loved ones. In fact, pretend that the person that you want to kill is like Longshanks, but not technically him," William stated.

Although Naruto never met Longshanks, he imagined him to be like Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin who made Sasuke go to him for power to kill his older brother Itachi for massacring their family, the Uchiha Clan.

Naruto remembered Sakura telling him about the incident that happened between Orochimaru and Sasuke at the Forest Of Death four years ago.

While Naruto was knocked out by Orochimaru who used the Five Pronged Seal on him, Orochimaru and Sasuke fought to which Sasuke was given the Curse Mark by Orochimaru.

Naruto remembered the words that Sakura heard Orochimaru say to her and Sasuke before he (Orochimaru) disappeared:

_"Very soon, Sasuke will seek me out, and desire my power."_

Naruto clenched his fists in anger as he remembered his fight with Orochimaru when he (Naruto), Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya fought Orochimaru and Kabuto before Tsunade was appointed as the Fifth Hokage.

Flashbacks of Naruto's fight with Sasuke at The Valley Of The End ran through Naruto's mind. He remembered the words he told Sasuke about him not wanting Orochimaru to take Sasuke away from them after everything they've been through as Team 7:

_"__I'm not going to let the likes of Orochimaru get a hold of you! And if you won't listen to reason, then I'll break every single bone in your body!"_

Eventually, William snapped Naruto out of his thoughts about Sasuke and Orochimaru.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?" Naruto responded.

"Are you okay?" William worried to which Naruto smiled at him.

"Oh. I'm sorry, William. I was spacing out a little. Of course I'm okay."

"Oh. Good. You seemed like you were angry about something. When I said that you should think about someone evil that you remember other than Longshanks, I didn't mean for you to get _that _angry," William voiced.

"It's alright. I'm fine. Really," Naruto reassured William.

However, Kakashi and Sakura knew that Naruto was thinking about all the hard times they went through when Sasuke left the village, and when they fought Orochimaru in order to try and get Sasuke back.

"O... K...," William replied, who was secretly still not buying Naruto's statement. "Now then... where were we?"

"We were about to practice fighting with the Scottish pretending that they were the English when they're really not," Sakura remembered.

"Oh yes. Now then, shall we train?" William quizzed with a smirk.

"Oh yeah! Bring it on, dattebayo!" Naruto cried as he, Kakashi and Sakura started fighting the Scottish as part of their training session.

* * *

><p><em>One fight later...<em>

Once Team Kakashi were done fighting the Scottish, all of them were knocked out, and Team Kakashi was panting in exhaustion.

"Hmm. I'm impressed. You managed to hurt them without breaking a sweat. I'm proud of you," William acknowledged with a smile.

Naruto fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"Is it over yet?" he complained.

"Aye, but don't forget we're still going to be training like this for the next three months. After all, I did say that I wouldn't go easy on you, right?" William inquired to which Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura all groaned. "Oh come on. Don't give me that. Look. As I said before, Tsunade did say that you have to help me fight the English, right?"

"We know, William. But at least give us a chance to recover while our chakra is being restored," Naruto moaned.

"Chakra? What's that?" William wondered.

"Chakra is like energy for us back in Konoha when it comes to us being ninjas," Kakashi explained.

"Oh," William said. "Alright. Take a break. But don't think that your training is over yet. We still have a lot of work to do before we battle the English at Stirling."

Naruto gulped.

_"Oh Kami__, k__ill me now. This is going to be tougher than I thought. So much for a long mission," _Naruto complained to himself.

And so, for the next three months, Team Kakashi, William and the rest of the Scottish began to prepare for the Battle At Stirling.

Then, on September 11, everybody was getting ready to go to Stirling to prepare for their fight with the English.

Hamish walked up to Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura (who were in the field) and called out their names.

"Naruto. Kakashi. Sakura."

"Oh. Hey, Hamish. What's up?" Naruto questioned.

"William wants to see you," Hamish replied.

"What does he want?" Sakura wondered.

"Just come," Hamish spoke.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and the trio followed Hamish to find William.

When they finally got to where William was, Hamish told them:

"Stop. Wait right here."

Hamish went to go get William who was in his tent and held his hand as they went outside to meet the others.

"Okay. Before I bring William outside, I want you to close your eyes," Hamish said.

"Why?" Sakura quizzed.

"Just do it," Hamish answered as Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura closed their eyes. Hamish motioned a hand for William to walk closer to them, to which he did.

"Okay. Open your eyes," Hamish voiced to which Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura opened their eyes, looked at William, and couldn't believe what they saw.

William had blue Woad paint on his face. Part of the paint was on the right side of his face while the other part was on his left side, and part of his face was not covered with the paint.

As soon as Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura looked at William, they were in awe at his appearance.

"William? Is that you?" a shocked Naruto popped the question.

William chuckled.

"What? You don't recognize me? I just joined Team Kakashi four months ago, and then, just as we're starting to get to know each other, now you act as if you don't remember me. Come on. I've trained you for three months."

"Of course we know who you are, William. It's just that... you look...," Sakura was about to say until William finished her sentence with a smile.

"Different?"

"Yeah...," Naruto said as he exclaimed:

"William Wallace, you look awesome, dattebayo!"

"Thank you, Naruto," William complimented as he looked back at his army of Scots and told them:

"Now then... ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR?!"

The Scots (along with Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura) cheered.

* * *

><p><em>During our three month training with William, we trained like crazy.<em>

He was ordering us around as if he was a sergeant.

_Well, he was the leader of the Scots, so I guessed that's the reason why he was bossing us around like that._

_As soon as we got right to training, I thought it was never going to end..._

_That is, until the day (September 11) of the Battle Of Stirling came where we'd fight against the English for freedom._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: And that concludes Chapter 4. Hope you all enjoyed it! :D Oh, and yes, part of William's last line of the chapter is a reference to the movie. The next chapter will be the Battle Of Stirling. I'm getting excited already because it's going to be an epic and fun chapter. Please read and review! :D P.S. When I was writing out the training scenes with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, William and the rest of the Scots, let's just say that I was inspired by "The Legend Of Zelda" series, which is my favorite video game of all time. :D)<strong>


	6. Chapter 5: The Battle Of Stirling

Freedom. Chapter 5: The Battle Of Stirling.

**(Note: So far, this chapter has to be one of my favorite chapters of this fanfic and also one of my favorite parts and battles (which in my opinion is one of my favorite movie battles in movie history) in Braveheart. It's not only because of The Battle Of Stirling (at Stirling Bridge), but also (*SPOILER*) because of the famous "freedom" speech. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :D P.S. *Warning.* The following chapter is rated M (R) for violence, and mild coarse language. You have been warned.)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>If there's one thing that I learned about war...<em>

_War is hell._

_It's like... a nightmare that you can never wake up from... as if you were dead._

* * *

><p><em>~ September 11, 1297 (The Battle Of Stirling)... ~<em>

While William, Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, and the rest of the Scots were on their way to the Battle Of Stirling, an army of 2,300 Scottish men (with 300 cavalry and 2,000 infantry) who were all soldiers stood on the battlefield looking forward to fighting the English which had 9,000 – 13,000 men (with 1,000 – 3,000 cavalry and 8,000 – 10,000 infantry), who like them were all soldiers.

All the soldiers were a little anxious about the battle though. A lot of questions ran through their mind.

Would they live?

Would they die?

Would they ever see their families and loved ones again?

Who knows?

Eventually, a horseman approached three men by the names of Mornay, Lochlan and Craig who were all on their horses.

"Well, what news?" Mornay asked.

"We're outnumbered, at least 3 to 1," the horseman replied.

"How many horse, then?" Mornay wondered.

"300, maybe more," the horseman said.

"300 heavy horse?" Mornay questioned in surprise.

"We must try to negotiate," Lochlan suggested.

"Who's in command? Did he have a scarlet chevron?" Mornay inquired.

"Aye, he did," the horseman responded.

Now, it was Craig's turn to speak.

"We can still negotiate."

While the four of them continued talking, two of the soldiers; a young man and a veteran in the Scottish army were overhearing their conversation.

"What are they talking about?" the young man asked the veteran standing next to him.

"I can't hear, but it doesn't look good," the veteran told him. "The nobles will negotiate. If they do a deal, then we go home. And if not, we charge."

"300 heavy horse; we have no chance," Mornay repeated his statement to Lochlan, Craig and the horseman that he said earlier.

Abruptly, the English infantry, calvary, and archers appeared on the battlefield.

The soldiers' anxiety started to kick in; their hearts starting to beat really fast as they looked at the English.

"So many!" the young soldier muttered to the veteran to which he gulped. "I didn't come here to fight so they can own more lands; then I have to work for them."

"Nor me," the veteran agreed as he shouted to the rest of the army:

"Alright, lads! I'm not dying for these bastards! Let's go home!"

The rest of the army agreed with the veteran as they were about to leave and give up in fighting the English. That is... until Lochlan rode on horseback to them, and yelled:

"Stop, men! Do not flee! Wait until we've negotiated!"

Just then, William and his men arrived with Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto on the battlefield just as the rest of the army was about to leave, until they stopped at Lochlan's request and looked at everyone who was with William.

Now, normally Kakashi would have his mask covering his left eye because of his Sharingan who he received from his deceased teammate Obito Uchiha long ago. However, now that Team Kakashi was ready to fight with William and the rest of the Scottish against the English, Kakashi uncovered his mask, revealing his left eye, but it was still covering his mouth.

By the time they got to the battlefield, Naruto was astonished at the English army, and then he looked at the Scottish army.

_"Whoa. So this is what war is like,"_ Naruto thought until he spoke up to William. "You know, I've never been in a war before. I'm kind of scared."

Naruto gulped.

"Don't worry," William looked at Naruto and everyone else with a smile on his face. "I'll protect you all with my life. No matter what. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"

Naruto clenched his right fist as an image of Sasuke came to his mind. "You're right, William. In fact, I'm ready for anything!" Naruto raised his fist in the air, as if he was pointing at the English army. "Bring it on! If it's a war you want, it's a war you'll get! Believe it!"

William nodded in agreement.

"Right. Now let's go," he said as they rode up to the rest of the Scottish soldiers and nobles.

"William Wallace?" the young soldier asked.

The veteran scoffed.

"Can't be. Not tall enough."

The young solider noticed that Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi were with William.

"Wait. Who are they?" he asked.

"I don't know. Why is there a girl here?" the veteran inquired as he grumbled with a chuckle:

"Heh. I bet she can't even fight. Actually, I'm not even sure if those three people that are with Wallace; well, most likely him, are strong enough to fight the English."

As soon as William and the rest of the men along with Sakura rode up to the nobles, Stephen spoke.

"The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight. It's drawn the finest people."

"Where is thy salute?" Lochlan asked William, to which he responded:

"For presenting yourselves on this battlefield, I give you thanks."

"This is our army. To join it you give homage," Lochlan voiced in uncertainty.

"I give homage to Scotland," William replied.

"Wait. If this is "our army," then why in God's name is there a girl here?!" the veteran shouted.

"Yeah!" the young man replied.

That made Sakura so mad that she wanted to slap the two soldiers who mocked her, as if they were telling her that she was weak.

"I can fight!" she yelled as the rest of the army didn't believe her and laughed at her. However, Hamish, Campbell, William, Stephen, Morrison, Kakashi, Naruto and the rest of William's men were the only ones who didn't laugh at Sakura because they believed her.

But, as soon as those three words came out of Sakura's mouth, a surprised William remembered saying the exact same thing that he told his father before he (his father) went off to war to fight the English, but was tragically killed along with William's brother John.

~ _Flashback (__1280)...~_

_William told Malcolm that he wanted to fight, but Malcolm told him that he had to stay home so he wouldn't get hurt._

_Then, as Malcolm was about to leave, William told him:_

_"I can fight!"_

_Malcolm turned around to look at William._

_"I know. I know you can fight," Malcolm bent down to William's level, and looked deep into his son's eyes._

_Before Malcolm died, he told William something that he would never forget:_

_"But it's our wits that make us men."_

_End of flashback..._

Finally, William shouted to the army:

"If this is your army, why does it go?"

"We didn't come here to fight for them," the veteran yelled back as the rest of the soldiers shouted their agreements in unison.

"Home! The English are too many!" the young soldier complained, as if he was about to give up.

William looked at all the soldiers in front of him, and spoke:

"Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace. Joining us in this war are three people who come from a ninja village called Konoha. Their names are Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, and Sakura Haruno, the girl that you just made fun of. They are here because they are on a mission and have to protect me in this battle. No, not just me, but all of us!"

"William Wallace is 7 feet tall," the young soldier interrupted him.

"Yes, I've heard. He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse," William said as all the soldiers laughed at him, which made Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi chuckle at William's statement. "I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?"

"Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will live," the veteran objected.

"Aye, fight and you may die, run and you'll live. At least a while," William replied.

Then, with a booming voice, William said something to the army that Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura would never forget:

"And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"

Those words made the Scots realize what they were fighting for... freedom.

("Scotland forever!") William screamed in Scottish as the rest of the army repeated the exact same thing, as if they were cheering.

William rode to Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and the rest of his men.

"Wow. What you said back that there, William," Naruto spoke to Willliam in awe. "That was amazing. You're awesome!"

"Thank you, Naruto. Remember what you told me three months ago? About you imagining that I would become the King Of Scotland? Well, if I'm going to become king someday, then I'd have to make a speech like this," William answered as Naruto imagined William saying his freedom speech to the people of Scotland after he would possibly become their king. Then, Naruto thought of Sasuke and realized that if William ended up surviving this war against the English, William would help Team Kakashi get Sasuke back. In his mind, Naruto pictured William telling Sasuke part of the freedom speech, but instead of him saying, "They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!", William would tell Sasuke, "You may take my life, but you'll never take... MY FREEDOM!"

"Now what do we do?" Stephen asked.

William looked at the English, and back at his friends. "Just be yourselves."

As William was about to ride to where the English army were standing, ready to face the Scottish, Hamish asked him:

"Where are you going?"

To which William responded:

"I'm going to pick a fight."

Hamish turned to Stephen, and said:

"Well, we didn't get dressed up for nothing."

Meanwhile, Team Kakashi watched William ride up to a soldier named Cheltham who was speaking with Mornay, Lochlan and Craig.

"Here are the king's terms. Lead this army off the field..."

William appeared right behind Cheltham and circled around him, but he continued talking, ignoring William. "And he will give you each estates in Yorkshire, including hereditary title, from which you will pay-"

William distracted Cheltham with his horse, yet he still ignored him.

As Cheltham was about to finish his sentence, William interrupted him.

"I have an offer for you."

Mornay introduced William to Cheltham.

"Cheltham, this is William Wallace."

Cheltham scoffed and continued talking until his sentence was once again cut off by William.

"From which you will pay the king an annual duty-"

"I said I have an offer for you."

"You disrespect a banner of truce?!" Lochlan cried angrily.

"From his king? Absolutely." William looked at Lochlan and back at Cheltham. "Here are Scotland's terms. Lower your flags, and march straight back to England, stopping at every home you pass by to beg forgiveness for 100 years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today."

While Cheltham laughed at William, William gave him a smirk.

"You are outmatched. You have no heavy cavalry. In two centuries no army has won without-" Cheltham was about to say until William shouted:

"I'm not finished!"

Naruto looked at Kakashi and Sakura, and whispered:

"Man. William sure is stubborn, isn't he?"

"Shh," Sakura shushed Naruto, so she and Kakashi could continue hearing William's conversation with Cheltham.

"Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own arse," William insulted Cheltham as he went back to the English while William made a face at him.

"I'd say that was rather less cordial that he was used to," Mornay spoke up.

"You be ready and do exactly as I say. On my signal, ride round behind our position and flank them," William commanded.

"We must not divide our forces," Mornay worried.

"Do it, and let the English see you do it," William said.

"They'll think we've run away," Mornay fretted.

"Take out their archers, and I'll meet you in the middle," William replied.

"Alright," Mornay responded.

William rode up to Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi.

"William, what you just said back there to that soldier called Cheltham, about having his commander "put his head between his legs, and kiss his own arse." Don't you think that was a little uncalled for?" Naruto quizzed William.

"Well, he did deserve it. If Longshanks was here, I'd say the exact same thing to him... just like how I told you when we first met,"

Naruto remembered William's insulting words:

_"You __should pay __a little more respect for me! Oh, here's a favor I have for you: put your head between your legs, and KISS YOUR OWN ARSE!"_

After realizing what William said to Cheltham, Naruto thought to himself, while giving William a mad look:

_"Jerk."_

William glared at Naruto, and asked him:

"Hey. Don't give me that look, Naruto. What, do you want to team up with the English just so you can kill Kakashi, Sakura and the rest of the Scottish, including me? Is that what you want? Is it?"

Tsunade's words about protecting William echoed in Naruto's mind:

_"__There is a catch to his mission, however: __You have to make sure that William doesn't die, otherwise the mission will be a failure. __Understood?"_

Finally, Naruto sighed, and answered:

"No. If you died, then I'd never forgive myself. After all, Grandma Tsunade did say we have to protect you, right?"

"Right. Now come on," William said as he, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura went to go join up with the rest of the Scottish.

Everybody kneeled while a priest walked up to them, and spoke Latin.

Naruto looked at William, and told him:

"William, in case we die during this battle, I just want to say that I'm sorry for being mean to you."

William looked at Naruto.

"You too, Naruto."

Then, Naruto thought of Hinata.

"William."

"Yes?"

"If Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I die before you, that is if you survive, promise me that you'll look after Hinata."

William looked at Naruto with a determined look.

"Don't say that, Naruto. The three of you are not going to die. I won't let you. I did say that I'd protect you all with my life no matter what, right?"

Naruto nodded his head silently, and looked at the sky, thinking of Hinata.

_"Hinata. I love you."_

Meanwhile, a commander named Lord Talmadge who was with Cheltham scowled at the Scottish.

"Insolent bastard. I want this Wallace's heart on a plate. Archers," he voiced as Cheltham gave the signal while the archers moved forward.

While Lord Talmadge and the English were waiting for a reaction from the Scottish, meanwhile, back in Konoha, everybody was starting to get worried about Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, while at the same time, wondering if they'd make it out alive.

Hinata was the one who really worried about Naruto the most. She looked at the sky from her open window in her bedroom, and thought of him.

_"Naruto...,"_ tears formed in Hinata's eyes as she cupped her hands together, and prayed for him while crying. Neji was watching her cry as he walked to Hinata, and embraced her.

Meanwhile, back at Stirling, while the Scottish were staring at the English, Naruto not only thought of Hinata, but he also thought of Sasuke. He started to remember what Sasuke told him back at their fight in The Valley of The End before Sasuke went to Orochimaru.

_Flashback (four years ago, 1293)..._

_During Naruto and Sasuke's fight, Sasuke asked Naruto:_

_"Why, Naruto? Why would you go so far for me?"_

_"Because this is the first time I've ever had a bond like this," Naruto replied with a smile. "That's why I'll do anything I can... to stop you!"_

_At one point, Sasuke declared to Naruto:_

_"If that's how it is, I'll just have to sever that bond!"_

_End of flashback..._

_"Sasuke..,"_ Naruto voiced to himself as his thoughts were interrupted by the screams of the Scottish, Kakashi and Sakura. So Naruto ended up screaming with them.

"You bastards!" one soldier named Stewart screamed as the rest of them started chanting like animals trapped in a cage, wanting to break free.

One Scot walked forward and lifted his kilt as a way of insulting the English as the others (excluding Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi who weren't wearing kilts like William) did the same thing. Naruto stepped forward.

"Hey! You English pigs! Get a load of this!" he exclaimed with a smirk as he gave the English the middle finger.

Lord Talmadge scoffed in disgust at Naruto's impudence, and mumbled:

"Idiot."

As Naruto went back to the rest of the Scottish, the English archers drew their bows, and Cheltham signaled once more.

"Loose!"

Once the arrows flew from the English, all the Scots (along with Team Kakashi) crouched down behind their shields, while some of the Scots were hit.

Stephen looked at William, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi.

"The Lord tells me He can get me out of this mess, but He's pretty sure you're fucked."

"Uh, I'm sorry, what?" Naruto queried with a raised eyebrow while Stephen began to laugh wildly like a maniac.

After the arrows stopped raining down on them, the Scots and Team Kakashi screamed. While Naruto and Kakashi (along with the Scots) began mooning to the English, with a fist in the air, Sakura shouted:

"SHANNARO!"

_"This is so embarrassing, dattebayo. I just hope everyone back in Konoha doesn't make fun of me as I'm doing this to the English," _Naruto silently suffered in embarrassment.

Afterward, Cheltham signaled the archers again.

"Ready, loose!"

The English archers shot their arrows at the Scots again, who like last time, blocked their arrows against them with their shields. Some of the Scots got hit by the arrows however.

William looked at Lochlan, Mornay and Craig who were with the other Scottish nobles, and yelled:

"Ride!"

Lord Talmadge was quite impressed that the Scottish nobles were fleeing from the battlefield.

"See, every Scot with a horse is fleeing. Our cavalry will ride them down like grass. Send the horse; full attack," he told Cheltham who gave a signal to the calvary to take down the Scots themselves.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura noticed that William and the rest of the Scots didn't stand an inch as they saw the English knights charging across the battlefield.

"Guys! Don't just stand there! Do something!" Naruto yelled with anime bulging white eyes.

"Wait, Naruto. I will give the signal in just a moment," William said as Naruto watched the English continuing to charge at the Scots. Naruto's heart began to pound, fearing that the English were going to kill them right then and there. Naruto heard William give the following commands to the Scots as the English kept getting closer to them.

"Steady!"

"Hold!"

"Hold!"

"Hold!"

_"Any minute now...," _Naruto told himself, anxiously as sweat started to pour on his face.

Finally, as the English reached the Scots, William screamed:

"NOW!"

The Scots and Team Kakashi raised up their long and heavy spears and the horses of the Englishmen crashed into the spears that belonged to the Scots and Team Kakashi. After that, throughout the rest of the battle, the Scots and Team Kakashi continued fighting the English, only this time, using their swords and shields.

An English soldier was about to charge at Naruto, getting ready to attack him, but Naruto stabbed the soldier in the stomach with his sword. Another soldier kicked Naruto to the ground.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried.

"Sakura! Concentrate on fighting the English!" Kakashi barked.

"Right!" Sakura agreed as she did what she was told, while Kakashi killed the soldier that knocked Naruto to the ground.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto uttered while Kakashi gave him a nod.

Meanwhile, William chopped one of the English soldiers' heads off with an axe. One soldier sliced him on the arm, but William kept fighting. Morrison poked another soldier's eyes out. Another chopped Campbell's left hand off as he screamed.

"Father!" Hamish shrieked as he continued fighting the English.

While the ongoing battle was fierce and brutal, a shocked Lord Talmadge started noticing Lochlan, Craig and Mornay making it to the battlefield and aiding the Scots and Team Kakashi's fight to slaughter the English.

"Send the infantry," Lord Talmadge ordered to Cheltham.

"My lord?" a frightened Cheltham panicked.

"You lead them!" Lord Talmadge demanded as Cheltham was about to head straight for William.

"William! Look out!" Sakura yelled as William turned his attention to Cheltham who was on horseback charging for William about to kill him.

"BASTARD!" William screamed as the two men went head to head as Cheltham ended up getting knocked off his horse, and was beheaded by William's axe.

Now Lord Talmadge was _really _scared.

"Retreat!" he called out to his men as they were on their way towards the bridge. Abruptly, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi noticed this happening, got on their horses and headed straight towards Lord Talmadge and his men.

After killing every single one of them, Lord Talmadge fell off his horse after being hit by Naruto's sword.

"No! Please! Don't hurt me!" Lord Talmadge panicked with fear in his eyes as he started backing away from Naruto.

"Oh... I'm not going to hurt you...," Naruto replied as the chakra of the Nine-Tailed-Fox started to appear on Naruto's body which made his eyes turn blue to raging red eyes. "I'M GOING TO ANNIHILATE YOU!" he shouted as he took out his sword, jumped into the air while grabbing onto his sword, and screamed:

"THIS IS FOR SASUKE!"

Naruto pierced his sword right into Lord Talmadge's chest where his heart was, and blood splattered on the ground.

"I hope you burn in Hell, you rotten scumbag," Naruto declared as his eyes turned back to his normal eye color - blue, to which the Nine-Tailed-Fox's chakra stopped taking over him. He began to pant while wiping the blood off of his face with his hand.

"Naruto. Are you alright?" Sakura worried.

"Yes. I'm fine," Naruto said.

Afterward, Lochlan rode to Team Kakashi.

"Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura. It's a good thing I found you," Lochlan told them.

The trio turned around to face him.

"Lochlan. What are you doing here?" Naruto questioned.

"We've beaten the English. William is waiting for you," Lochlan answered.

"Oh! Right! William!" Sakura realized as she, Kakashi and Naruto ran to join William and the rest of the Scots.

By the time Team Kakashi reached them, they saw William walking up to the front of his troops who were all tired from their battle.

William raised his sword into the air, and screamed at the top of his lungs to the Scots who (along with Team Kakashi) cheered with him. William screamed once more.

The Scots began to chant:

"WALLACE! WALLACE! WALLACE!"

"You did it, William," Naruto congratulated William with a smile.

"No. _We _did it," William corrected him, referring to the Scots, Team Kakashi, and himself. Naruto grinned at William, while Kakashi covered his left eye with his mask again.

_"Murron... thank you, my love," _William thought to himself with a smile as he remembered Murron and stabbed his sword into the ground.

_"It's funny. I could almost fall for him,"_ Sakura smiled to herself, referring to William, but then immediately shrugged the thought out of her mind and shook her head. _"Oh, get it together, Sakura. The only man that you'll ever love is Sasuke, right? Even though he broke your heart four years ago. After all, just like you told Stephen and Kiba – you and William are just friends, right?"_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"_

_Your words that day, William... I remember them well. In fact, those words will always be with me for the rest of my life until the day I die._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Finally! It took me a while to finish writing this chapter, but I did it, and honestly, I had a blast while working on it. This chapter is even longer than the first chapter because I put so much detail into it too, mostly because of the Battle Of Stirling. But don't think that the story's over yet though. It's just beginning. Anyway, now you see why I decided to name this Braveheart &amp; Naruto fanfic "Freedom." It's not only because, well, Braveheart is about freedom (hence the famous "freedom" speech), but it's also because I discovered that one of the Naruto Shippuden endings (Ending 17) is called "Freedom," which I thought seemed to fit with the title of the fanfic. Now, as I was working on it, I noticed that both Braveheart and Naruto have to do with war, only except Braveheart has knights and soldiers while Naruto has ninjas. I was also thinking of the Fourth Great Ninja War (which I think is currently ongoing in the Naruto animemanga right now at the moment; correct me if I'm wrong though) while I was writing this chapter. Another thing I did while working on this fanfic (this may seem kind of random and odd to some people) was that I created a playlist on my iPod in my iPhone (5S) for the fanfic, almost like a soundtrack for the story, as if you were watching a movie or TV show. For example, for the battles at Stirling and Falkirk, one of the songs that immediately comes to my mind is "Our Solemn" hour by the rock and roll band "Within Temptation," which is one of my favorite bands. So yeah. I just thought of bringing that up because I'm not sure how many people do that kind of thing when they're writing a story. Now, I know it was kind of awkward to have Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi doing the same things that William and the Scots did (such as screaming and chanting at the English), but I didn't just want them (Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi) to be standing there doing nothing. Luckily, unlike Kakashi and Naruto (who, along with William and the other Scots) showed off their buttocks to the English (no, I'm serious; in "Braveheart", the Scots actually did that to the English), Sakura raised a fist in the air, and shouted "Shannaro!" Yes I made Naruto give the middle finger (and I usually don't do that in my stories) at the English because I thought it would be kind of funny. Oh, and I'm sorry if I offended any people who are from England, when Naruto said "English pigs." Please don't take that seriously. Both England and Scotland (along with Ireland) I kind of thought of it. Anyway, I've been rambling on for too much now, so in the meantime, more chapters are coming soon, so please read and review! :D)**


	7. Chapter 6: The Dance

Freedom. Chapter 6: The Dance.

**(Note: Hey guys. It's Aerisuke here, again. Now I forgot to mention this in the prologue, but I kind of made a slight error with the ages of Naruto and Kakashi. Sakura's fine though. Originally, I said that Naruto was 17 at the time of the Battle Of Stirling, 18 at the time of the Battle Of Falkirk, 25 at the time of William's execution, and 34 at the time of the Battle Of Bannockburn. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's how I wrote the ages of Naruto and Kakashi:**

**Kakashi Hatake**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): September 15, 1266<strong>  
><strong>Age: 31 (at the time of The Battle of Stirling on September 11, 1297) 32 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk on July 22, 1298), 39 (at the time of William's execution on August 23, 1305), and 48 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn on June 23-24, 1314).<strong>

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): October 10, 1280.<strong>  
><strong>Age: 17 (at the time of The Battle Of Stirling on September 11, 1297) 18 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk on July 22, 1298), 25 (at the time of William's execution on August 23, 1305), and 34 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn on June 23-24, 1314).<strong>

**Now you see where I'm going with this? According to the events of "Braveheart" (and the real William Wallace's life since Braveheart was obviously based on him; well kind of), the Battle Of Stirling took place on September 11, 1297, the Battle Of Falkirk took place on July 22, 1298, William's execution took place on August 23 (Temari's birthday, surprisingly), 1305, and the Battle Of Bannockburn took place sometime between June 23-24 of 1314, almost nine years after William's death. Here's what I really meant, according to the events of "Freedom," and of "Braveheart"":**

**Kakashi Hatake**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): September 15, 1266<strong>  
><strong>Age: 30, almost 31 (at the time of The Battle of Stirling on September 11, 1297), 31, almost 32 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk on July 22, 1298), 38, almost 39 (at the time of William's execution on August 23, 1305), and 47, almost 48 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn on June 23-24, 1314).<strong>

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
><strong>Date of birth (DOB): October 10, 1280.<strong>  
><strong>Age: 16, almost 17 (at the time of The Battle of Stirling on September 11, 1297), 17, almost 18 (at the time of The Battle Of Falkirk on July 22, 1298), 24, almost 25 (at the time of William's execution on August 23, 1305), and 33, almost 34 (at the time of The Battle Of Bannockburn on June 23-24, 1314).<strong>

**So yeah. Sorry for the confusion. For now, please enjoy the chapter! :D**

* * *

><p><em>Later that night...<br>_

After the Battle Of Stirling was over, everybody washed the facepaint off their faces (Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura weren't wearing facepaint at the time of the Battle Of Stirling).

Meanwhile, somewhere in a bar in Scotland, everybody was celebrating their victory after winning their battle with the English at Stirling. However, they were still recovering from their injuries, thanks to Sakura's healing abilites.

The Scots were talking amongst themselves and having a great time. Some of them were drinking in harmony. Well, minus William, Hamish, Stephen, Campbell, Morrison, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi of course.

"I can't believe we beat the English at Stirling! I feel so alive, that I'm so happy I could die!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to contain his excitement.

"Don't," William stated.

"It was just an expression," Naruto said.

"Naruto. Just because we've beaten the English at Stirling doesn't mean that our battle with them isn't quite over yet," William replied.

"Aw. Why?! I thought our mission was over!" Naruto complained, as he put his feet on the chair, and his head on top of his knees and arms. "And here I thought I was going to go home after this, but I guess not."

Sakura and Kakashi felt sad for Naruto because they, too, were homesick.

"Look, I will explain everything to everyone else at dinner., okay?" William put his hand on Naruto's back, comforting his friend and teammate.

Naruto sighed.

"Alright."

"Thank you," William acknowledged.

During Naruto's conversation with William, Stephen snuck away from the septet (Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, William, Hamish, Campbell and Morrison) and went onto the stage, as he ran backstage, hiding himself away from everyone.

However, Naruto noticed that Stephen was gone.

"Hey. Where did Stephen go?" Naruto wondered.

Just then, the sound of a microphone turned on, and a spotlight on the stage shined on Stephen.

"Stephen?!" Hamish cried.

"What the heck is that insane Irishman doing now?" Campbell scoffed in annoyance.

"Idiot," Morrison mumbled about Stephen.

"Ladies and gentlemen? May I have your attention, please?" Stephen called to the rest of the Scots who looked at him. "Now, since our battle with the English at Stirling, which has been a success, I think it's time we dance. However, two of those people that will be dancing will be none other than..."

_"Than...?" _Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, William, Campbell, Hamish and Morrison inquired to themselves.

"...William and Sakura!" Stephen revealed as two spotlights appeared on both William and Sakura, to which they began to blush.

"Stephen! Stop teasing Sakura and William or I'll kick your butt!" Naruto shouted with a clenched fist in the air.

"Come on, Naruto! Where's your sense of fun?" Stephen laughed.

William and Sakura quickly glanced at each other, but looked away in embarrassment.

"Look, Stephen. How many times do I have to say it? William and I are only friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend. How could he and I fall in love with each other after Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I have been with all of you for only four months?" Sakura catechized, getting annoyed at Stephen, as if she wanted to punch him in the face.

"Well, I actually wouldn't mind," William said, his face still red.

"What?" Sakura cocked her head at William in confusion.

"It's not like this is my first time dancing with a woman," William stated in a matter-of-fact way as he stopped blushing and looked at Sakura. "I'll dance with you, Sakura, but only this once. After all, it's not like we're dating. We're just friends, right?"

"Right. So come on. Let's dance. You know, I've never danced with a man before," Sakura replied as she and William walked closer to each other; her hands meeting his. He put one hand on Sakura's back, and she did the same thing.

Their feet moved graciously all around the room, with everyone else (including Naruto and Kakashi) joining them in their dance.

Then, when the music got into an upbeat part, everybody held each other's hands and their feet began to stomp the ground. Everybody (including Sakura and William) was laughing and having such a great time, wishing for the night to never end. William and Sakura (still holding each other's hands) started spinning around for a few seconds, but eventually stopped, to avoid themselves from getting dizzy and passing out on the floor.

Finally, as soon as the music stopped, everyone was cheering while William and Sakura were still panting in exhaustion from all that dancing.

"You did good, Sakura," William panted.

"You too, William," Sakura huffed.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Stephen chanted, to which William and Sakura both glared at him and walked over to him.

While Sakura punched Stephen on the head, William slapped Stephen's left cheek.

"Ow! Come on, guys! I was just joking!" Stephen cried.

"Joke or no joke, I don't think it was very funny," Sakura said, her back facing Stephen. "Look. I don't want to repeat myself, but even though I liked dancing with William, he and I are just friends," She looked at him behind her shoulder with an icily stare in her eyes. "Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Stephen whimpered.

"Come on! Let's have some food! I'm starving!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone else went to join Naruto at the dinner table.

William stood up and tapped his wineglass on a spoon.

"Attention, everyone. Attention," he voiced as everyone looked at him. "Before we eat our meal, I'd like to make a toast. Now as you all know, we've worked very hard on our battle with the English at Stirling. However, our battle with them isn't quite over yet. Although we've beaten the English, they'll come back. Above all else, I'd like to thank all the Scots, especially Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi for working so hard on this battle. It was an intense three-month training for us, but we did it. Thank you all very much. To freedom!" William raised his wineglass.

"To freedom!" everyone else raised their wineglass, and started eating their dinner.

* * *

><p>Later that night, while everyone was still talking, Sakura and William left the bar and went outside on the same field of grass that they sat with Kakashi and Naruto almost four months ago before their victory against the English at Stirling.<p>

"So, Sakura. Tell me a little bit about yourself. You kind of know a little bit about me, but what's your background?" William wondered.

"Well, when I was growing up in the Ninja Academy back in Konoha, I would often get teased about my big forehead because it's so wide. In fact, they called me "Forehead Girl", or "Billboard Brow." Then, Ino, the girl that you met back in Konoha, gave me a red ribbon as a way of showing me that I needed to be more confident in myself, and to not let other people tease me about my forehead, and to accept myself the way I am. Like you, William, not only did Ino tell me to be more confident, but she also taught me to stand up to what I believe in, and we became best friends.. However, at some point, our friendship ended because I found out that like all the other girls at the Ninja Academy, she, like me, had a big crush on Sasuke. From that moment on, we became rivals. We even fought each other in the Chunin Exams, but eventually-" Sakura was about to finish until Wiliam interrupted her.

"What's the Chunin Exams?"

"The Chunin Exams is a type of a test to look over the abilities of the Genin, or Junior Ninja. If we do well, then we'd eventually become a Chunin, or middle ninja. The first stage is a written test. The second stage is a life-or-death situation in which we have to find one or both scrolls – the Earth scroll, and the Heaven scroll in order to continue on to the next round. In order to get those scrolls, the participants are locked in a dangerous training area, but without a sensei. The third and fourth stages are preliminary matches in which we have to fight each other in order for us to become Chunin. However, the fourth stage still continues the preliminary matches, but only a few of the participants who passed the second and third stage can participate while the people who didn't win become spectators during the fight. Anyway, Ino and I were two of the people who fought each other in the Chunin Exams. It was a pretty rough battle between us. At first, I thought one of us was going to win, but we ended up exchanging blows and knocked each other out, which led to a draw, meaning that we both lost the match. The kids back at the Ninja Academy during our childhood would often call Ino, "Ino-pig" because her name in Japanese means "boar,"" Sakura explained.

""Ino-pig?"" William snickered, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," Sakura said as she and William started to laugh a little. "But don't tell her I told you that!" she panicked.

"I won't," William agreed. "Although... I kind of wonder what would have happened if I was there during that fight..."

William imagined himself being there at Ino and Sakura's match.

_In William's imagination..._

_During Ino and Sakura's match, as both girls were about to charge at each other, they __ended up exchanging blows and knocked each other out, which led to a draw, and both girls were sent flying across the room, while falling to the ground unconscious._

_"Sakura!" William cried as he ran down the stairs and picked her up, while Asuma carried Ino, went up the stairs, and placed them against a wall._

_"Sakura... please wake up," William said, fearing that Sakura was already dead. As tears were about to form in his eyes, Sakura regained consciousness and looked at William who gave her a tight embrace._

_Out of William's imagination..._

"William? William."

William snapped out of his trance and back to reality as he noticed that Sakura was the one calling his name.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

"Aye. I'm fine," William nodded.

"Oh. Good," Sakura stated with a smile.

"Sakura, are you, Kakashi and Naruto doing anything tomorrow?" William questioned.

"No. Not that I know of. Why?" Sakura wondered.

"Well, tomorrow, I want to take the three of you to my childhood home. It's in Elderslie, and it's somewhere in Scotland," William responded.

"Sure. I'd love to go. I'll tell Naruto and Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said with a smile.

"Great," William smiled back at Sakura.

Afterward, Team Kakashi, William and everyone else went to bed, feeling exhausted from their battle with the English at Stirling.

However, before Naruto fell asleep, he wrote a letter to Hinata, giving her an update on the situation on what was going on with the Scots and the English.

_"Dearest Hinata,_

_I have some amazing news for you. Remember how I told you that Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I were going on a mission to help William and the Scottish fight the English at Stirling in Scotland and you thought that I wasn't going to make it out alive? Well, here I am, alive and well, writing this letter to you and telling you that I'm okay. At Stirling, William gave a speech to the Scottish army about how the English may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom. Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I were all stunned, yet inspired by William's words of wisdom; if you were only there to see it, Hinata. However, although we've beaten the English at Stirling, William says that our battle with them is not quite over yet. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, or how long this mission will take, but I really miss you so much, and I love you._

_Pray for me, Hinata._  
><em>Love, Naruto."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: And that concludes Chapter 6 (well, if you count the prologue, so far it's seven chapters long) of "Freedom." Now, about Stephen, just like how he's a comic relief character in "Braveheart" (he's pretty funny, and another one of my favorite characters in "Braveheart," other than William, Robert The Bruce, Murron, and Princess IsabelleIsabella Of France), he's also a comic relief character in "Freedom," like Naruto in "Naruto." Well, sometimes Naruto can be one. Stephen sometimes teases Sakura and William about being a couple, to which they (William and Sakura) both get embarrassed about it. But who knows? Maybe that friendship between them might evolve into something more... During the dance scene, when I'm talking about the music, the song "Lord Of The Dance'" from the Irish tap dance musical "Lord Of The Dance", which was created by Michael Flatley is the song playing in the background in this chapter. I was listening to it on my iPhone, and thought, "Wow. This would make a great dance song for the chapter." Turns out it did, to which I had a lot of fun making this chapter, and I was also inspired by the dance scene between Jack and Rose in "Titanic" (my second favorite James Horner film, with "Braveheart" being #1, IMO) as well as the dance scene in "Braveheart" after a grown-up William (who went on a pilgrimage with his uncle Argyle) returns to Scotland, and reunites with some of his old friends, as well as Murron, during a Scottish wedding celebration. Also, here's a little fun fact about me. My step-grandfather (December 19, 1923 – November 29, 2003) was actually born in England, but raised in Ireland. So I guess you could say both he and "Braveheart" introduced into Celtic music, which is one of my favorite music genres. If anyone asks me what my favorite instrument is when it comes to Celtic music, I'd say it's the bagpipes, mainly because of "Braveheart", and because it's such a pretty instrument. Now I've been a big Michael Flatley fan since childhood, and I absolutely love both of his dance musicals "Riverdance" and "Lord Of The Dance." There's actually videos of it on YouTube if you want to check it out, which I highly recommend. Another reason why I love "Braveheart" is not only because of the storyline and cinematography (that also won an Academy Award; as well as winning Best Picture and Best Director for Mel Gibson; "Braveheart" was nominated for ten Oscars, but won five), but it's also because of the music, and I absolutely love James Horner (the composer of "Braveheart", "Titanic", etc.), and he is without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite movie composers. Anyway, before I ramble on too much about "Braveheart", just to let you know, Chapter 7 of "Freedom" will be coming so please read and review! Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 6! Bye! :D )**


	8. Chapter 7: Elderslie

Freedom. Chapter 7: Elderslie.

**(Note: Before I start writing this chapter, I just want to say that I just made a William X Sakura video with the song "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera. The video itself is called "William Wallace X Sakura Haruno ~ "I've Hurt Myself By Hurting You, William." Part of the title is a reference to that one part of the chorus in the song, so be sure to check it out. My YouTube account is the same as my FFN and deviantART account, so be sure to check it out, and please comment on it because I've worked really hard on it, and it's my first AMV (which took me about 2-3, maybe 4 days to make), so please be nice about it, and no rude comments. Also, Happy Birthday, Naruto. This chapter is actually dedicated to him, not to mention that he's also in it. Well, enjoy.)**

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><p>The next morning, Naruto woke up, stretched and yawned. Then, he noticed that Kakashi and Sakura were not inside the tent.<p>

"Kakashi-sensei? Sakura?" Naruto looked around the tent, calling their names. He shrugged his shoulders and went outside of the tent only to find Sakura and Kakashi standing next to William, while the rest of William's men were talking.

"Ah, you're awake, Naruto. Did you sleep well?" William asked.

"Yes. But, what are you guys doing?" Naruto quizzed.

"Well, I've talked about this with Sakura last night while everyone was at the bar with you and Kakashi, and both she and I've decided that I'm taking all three of you to Elderslie, my hometown," said William.

"What made you want to do that?" Naruto wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"Well since we won our battle with the English at Stirling, I've decided to take you to Elderslie as a special treat for all the hard work that you've paid off during these last three months," William stated as he began to smile, which made Naruto's face light up with excitement, and he began jumping up and down like a little kid. "Wow! Thank you, William! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

William chuckled with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now come on. Let's go."

"Wait. Do the other Scots know that Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I are going with you, William?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes. I told Hamish to tell everyone else," William replied, which made Naruto raise his right fist high into the air with a grin on his face.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

"Right," William answered as he, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto got on their horses and rode to Elderslie.

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><p><em>Later that day...<em>

By the time the quartet reached Elderslie, they came upon a hilltop overlooking a village.

"This is where I was born and raised," William looked at Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. "Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, welcome to Elderslie."

"Wow," Naruto was in awe at it.

"It almost reminds me of Konoha, because of its beautiful greenery. Actually, Scotland is beautiful. I feel like I could live here forever," Sakura agreed.

"Come on. I'll show you around," William said as he took Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to the village while giving them a tour.

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><p>Finally, the quartet came across a barn.<p>

"Well, here we are, This is my house," William voiced.

Naruto gave a confused look at William.

"You live in a barn? What, did you grow up on a farm or something?"

"Aye. But like I said, it's not just any ordinary farm, Naruto. This is my home," William responded.

"I know that. It's just that... I don't know. I was expecting that you'd live in an apartment or a mansion just like everyone else back in Konoha," Naruto was baffled.

William ignored Naruto's comment and said:

"Come. Let's go inside."

And so, Team Kakashi followed William inside of the house.

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><p>As William was the first one to walk inside the house, he looked at Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi and told them:<p>

"Go on. Have a seat. Please, make yourselves at home."

"Okay," Naruto said as he, Kakashi and Sakura sat down on the floor right next to the fireplace. William lit up the fire, and sat down right next to Team Kakashi.

"Hey, William," Naruto said as William looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Remember how you said that your father and brother were killed by the English? How did it happen?"

William paused for a second, and looked away from the trio (Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura).

"William?" Sakura called his name as William looked at them, and responded:

"Well, it all started seventeen years ago. I was only ten years old. The year... was 1280. My father Malcolm and my brother John were on their way to MacAndrews, who was a man that was supposed to meet them at a gathering. I wanted to go with my father and brother of course, but they told me to go home. Then, by the time they got to MacAndrews' house, as soon as I followed my father and brother inside the barn, I came upon a horrifying sight."

"What "horrifying sight?" What did you see, William?" Kakashi wondered.

"I saw the body of many Scottish nobles who were all hanged by Longshanks. Although I was very young, ever since then, I've always been haunted by it."

_"William...," _Sakura thought to herself in symapthy as she imagined seeing Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, her parents and all of her friends being hanged. Only except in her imagination, instead of them all being hanged by Longshanks, according to William's information about him seeing all the dead Scottish nobles when he was young, in Sakura's mind, her parents, and friends; including Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were all hanged by Orochimaru and the rest of the Akatsuki. A shiver ran down Sakura's spine as she shuddered while hearing those words coming from William's lips.

However, Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by William who continued talking.

"Later that night, I overheard my father and brother talking with the rest of the Scotsmen, wanting to declare war on the English. The next day, I wanted to go with my father and brother to help them in the war, but again, they told me no. However, before they left me alone to take care of the farm, my father said something to me that I'd never forget."

William glanced at Sakura.

"Sakura, remember that day at the Battle Of Stirling, you told my army that you could fight, to which they all laughed at you in disbelief?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded.

"Well, Sakura, as soon as I heard you say that, I remember saying those exact same words that I told my my father before he, along with my brother went off to go to war against the English. He told me that he knew I could fight, and that he said that it was our wits that make us men. But however, while I hoped and prayed that my father and brother would return home from the war alive, my worst fears were confirmed when I discovered they were tragically killed."

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura felt sorry for William, who continued speaking.

"Afterward, the next day, my uncle Argyle told me that he'd take me back with him, and raise me as if I was his own son. Although I didn't want to leave, I had no choice but to go with him. During my absence, he taught me the skills of archery, and I was sent to a school called Paisley Abbey that's located in Dundee, Scotland. There, I studied to become a monk and even spoke many languages; including Latin and French."

"Whoa. You have to teach us how to speak Latin and French sometime, William," Naruto complimented.

"Who knows? Maybe you will speak both languages one day, Naruto," said William.

"Wait. But you said your wife was killed by an English noble. How did that happen?" Sakura asked William.

William got quiet as flashbacks of him fighting the English before finding out about Murron's death came to his mind.

"William?" Sakura mentioned William's name who snapped out of his trance.

"Huh?" William looked at Sakura. "Oh. Yes, Sakura?"

"How did your wife get killed by the English?" Sakura asked William again.

"I'd rather not say...," William stated in a monotone voice while thinking of Murron.

"O... K... well, can you tell us later?" Naruto questioned.

"Sure. I'll tell you another time, though," William said. "Anyway, now that you know a little bit more about me, what's your background?"

Then the expression on Naruto's face turned solemn.

"Hey. What's wrong, Naruto?" William asked, concerned for his teammate.

Naruto began to sigh and looked at William.

"William? Have you ever heard of something called the Nine-Tailed-Fox?" Naruto asked.

William blinked in confusion.

"No."

"Well, almost seventeen years ago, I was born with something called the Nine-Tailed-Fox, also known as the Kyubi named Kurama, who attacked Konoha, and killed many people. In fact, William, I know what it's like to lose your family," Naruto replied.

"You do?" William asked curiously.

"Yes. All my life, I grew up with no parents or siblings. People would shun me because the monster inside me killed their loved ones. I felt isolated. However, my teacher, Iruka Umino, thought of me as if I was his own son. The Nine-Tailed-Fox killed his parents, and I felt pretty awful and guilty for that. But eventually, I met Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, and they grew to accept me for who and what I was – a jinchuriki, or in other words, a host of a tailed beast," Naruto voiced.

William put his left hand on Naruto's left shoulder.

"Naruto."

Naruto looked at William.

"Yes, William?"

"Listen. I bet you're probably thinking that now that I know that you have a beast inside of you, that I'm probably going to shun you like everybody else, right?" William asked.

Naruto nodded his head slowly.

"Don't worry. I'm not like those people who called you a monster. In fact, if the people back in Konoha were still making fun of you, then I'd defend you. Believe me, I would," William responded with a serious look on his face.

At that moment, Naruto imagined William standing up to the villagers back in Konoha who made fun of Naruto.

_In Naruto's imagination..._

_Naruto imagined himself as a twelve-year-old again sitting on a swing looking sad._

_"Hey. Look. It's that kid again," one mother said._

_"He shouldn't even be here. He's not one of us," one father said._

_One of the parents (a man) walked up to Naruto and grabbed his collar._

_"Hey! Freak! Why don't you get out of here and kill yourself?! Nobody likes you, so beat it!"_

_The parent punched Naruto on the face which made him land on the ground._

_"Well? Are you going to run like the little coward you are?! Go on! Scram!" the father screamed._

_"Wait!" came the voice of William, which made everyone (including Naruto) turn around to look at him._

_"And who are you?" the father who was beating up Naruto asked._

_"I'm William Wallace, and I suggest you leave that boy alone right now!" William shouted._

_"Ha! It's none of your business! __Now get out of here, you mongrel! This boy has nothing to do with you, so stay out of it!" one of the mothers yelled._

_William clenched his fists in anger._

_"What gives you the right to criticize a child like him just because he's different from all of you?!"_

_The villagers got quiet._

_"There's a difference between us. You all think that just because you live in this village, you can make fun of this boy, right? Well, you're wrong. You think that you exist to mock someone who's not like you. I think that instead of you ostracizing him, you should show him a little more respect," William looked at Naruto. "And I go to make sure that he has it."_

_William held out his hand fot Naruto to hold it, and the two of them walked away from the village, leaving everyone stunned by William's words._

_Out of Naruto's imagination..._

Tears formed in Naruto's eyes.

"Hey. What's wrong, Naruto?" William asked.

"It's just that... I began to imagine of what it would have been like if you were there to defend me from those villagers who shunned me. I'm so glad to have such great friends like you, Sakura, Kakashi, my other friends back in Konoha, and the rest of the Scots here in Scotland," Naruto, who was overwhelmed with tears of happiness, hugged William who returned the hug. "Oh, William. I'm so glad that you understand, and that you accept me for who I am. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Naruto. From this day on, the four of us will be best friends forever, no matter what," William said with a smile as the two of them stopped hugging one another. "So. Anyway, tell me about this Sasuke guy. What's he like?"

Although Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi didn't want to tell William about how Sasuke betrayed Konoha, instead they talked about Sasuke's personality. Sakura put a finger on a chin, and thought of Sasuke while saying:

"Well... he is kind of like you, William. Except you're a little nicer than him. However, like you, he can also be pretty serious at times."

"Yeah. Sometimes he can be a real jerk. Back when he lived in Konoha, Sasuke and I used to be great buddies. That is, until one day...," Naruto said, remembering his fight with Sasuke at the Valley Of The End, and of how he couldn't stop and save Sasuke from going to Orochimaru.

"What happened?" William asked.

"I... don't want to talk about it," Naruto answered.

"Oh. Okay," William shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the fireplace. "Come on," he stood up. "We should be getting back to the camp. Everyone's probably concerned about our whereabouts. Let's go."

"Right," Sakura stood up along with Naruto and Kakashi, and the quartet left the house.

As Naruto, Sakura, William and Kakashi got on their horses, Naruto spoke.

"William?"

William looked at Naruto.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Thanks for taking us to your hometown. Promise us we'll come here again with you."

William smiled.

"Don't worry. I promise."

With that, the quartet left Elderslie and went back to William's camp.

While they were on their way there, Naruto asked William:

"Oh yeah. Hey, William. There's one thing I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" William wondered.

"What does "_Alba gu brath"_ mean?"

"It means "Scotland forever." William responded.

"Oh," Naruto understood.

Three days later, on September 15, the Scots, Naruto and Sakura celebrated Kakashi's 31st birthday, and almost a month and five days after that, they celebrated Naruto's 17th birthday, which was on October 10.

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><p><strong>(Note: Okay, I know I'm a day late, but Happy Birthday, Naruto. His birthday was on October 10. This was yet another fun chapter to write (which took me two days to write), because I wanted to focus on Naruto's past. Also, when I was writing a little bit about William's childhood, I actually had to go by both the movie, and at the part where he was educated at Paisley Abbey (even though that part was never shown in the movie, but in that one scene where when William and Murron are sitting on a mountain, he did mention that his uncle took him on a pilgrimage to Rome). Anyway, William is kind of a fun character to write as I'm writing this fanfic, because not only is he an interesting character and person (since he was a real person), but I notice that his personality is somewhat similar to Sasuke. Only except William would never betray Scotland, unlike Sasuke who betrayed Konoha as he (Sasuke) went to Orochimaru in order for Sasuke to get his revenge on Itachi for killing the Uchiha Clan. Now, originally, when William tells Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura about how he saw the Scottish nobles being hanged when he went in that barn during his childhood, I was going to save it for when he talks to Isabelle after meeting her for the first time. But I thought William would explain it to Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, and then later on like in "Braveheart," he'd (William) explain it to Isabelle. You know, because it is part of his past. Oh, and the part where William is defending Naruto, on the line where he says, "There's a difference between us. You think that you exist to mock someone who's not like you. I think that instead of you ostracizing him, you give him a little more respect. And I go to make sure that he has it.<em>" <em>is kind of a reference to the line that William says in "Braveheart" to the Scottish nobles, which I'll put in the next chapter. Also, I'm thinking that from now on, instead of me referring to William's army as the Scottish, I'll refer to them as the Scots because it's shorter. P.S. Before I end this chapter, I thought I'd give a birthday message to Naruto from William, Sakura, Kakashi and the rest of the Scots. Take it away.**

Sakura: Happy Birthday, Naruto!

Kakashi: Happy Birthday, Naruto.

William: Happy Birthday, Naruto. Remember: they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom! May all your dreams come true.

The Scots: Happy Birthday, Naruto!

**(Note: Well, anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review, and stay tuned for Chapter 8! Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 7 as much as I did! Bye! :D)**


	9. Chapter 8: Robert The Bruce

Freedom. Chapter 8: Robert The Bruce.

**(Note: In this chapter, we get to meet another one of the "Braveheart" characters who, like William, and many others is very interesting – Robert The Bruce. Oh, I forgot to put this at the beginning of the last two chapters. Enjoy.)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

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><p><em> ~ 1 month later (November)... ~<em>

A month after Naruto's birthday and two months after Team Kakashi's and the Scots' victory from their battle with the English at Stirling as well as Kakashi's birthday, in a ceremony at Edinburgh, William was about to be knighted as the Guardian Of Scotland.

William kneeled before Craig.

"I knight thee Sir William Wallace," Craig took out a necklace, and put it on William. "Sir William, in the name of God we declare and appoint thee guardian and high protector of Scotland and thy Captains as aides-de-camp. Stand and be recognized."

William stood up, and gave necklaces to Team Kakashi, and the rest of the Scots.

"Wow! Now I'm a full-fledged knight! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed with a fist in the air pointing at the Scottish nobles. "Well, kind of..."

_"It only seems like yesterday when Iruka-sensei graduated me. Iruka-sensei... if only you were here," _Naruto voiced to himself with a smile.

Then, a man by the name of John Balliol came up to Team Kakashi and William.

"Sir William," John said to William. "Inasmuch as you and your captains hail from a region long known to support the Balliol clan, may we invite you to continue your support and uphold our rightful claim?"

Mornay shouted in anger:

"Damn the Balliol clan! They're all Longshanks' men!"

William was trying to get their attention.

"Gentlemen!"

But the Scottish nobles continued arguimg.

"Gentlemen!" William cried again, yet again trying to get their attention once more.

"Now is the time to declare a king," John declared, but Mornay pointed out to him:

"Wait! Then you are prepared to recognize our legitimate succession."

"You're the ones who won't support the rightful claim," John accused Mornay.

"Those were lies when you first wrote them," Mornay spat.

"Oh, no. That's not true. I demand recognition of these documents," John replied.

"These documents were lies when you wrote them," Mornay repeated his statement.

William rolled his eyes in disgust while Naruto scoffed.

"Come on, William. Let's go. I can't stand to be with these idiots any longer."

Sakura glared at Naruto.

"What? They are idiots," Naruto tried to explain.

"Yeah, but at least they know what they're doing," Sakura replied.

Naruto gave a dirty look to Sakura.

"You think so, Sakura? If Grandma Tsunade was here, what would she have done?"

"She probably would have stopped their bickering by punching the ground with her fist. I mean, you know how feisty she can get," Sakura stated.

"Naruto, Sakura, let's go," William called their names as he was about to walk out of the building with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Campbell, Hamish and Stephen.

However, Craig noticed that they were leaving.

"Wait! Sir William, where are you going?" Craig asked William who turned around to face the crowd.

"We have beaten the English, but they'll come back, because you won't stand together."

"What will you do?" Craig questioned.

"I will invade England and defeat the English on their own ground," William determined, which made Craig chuckle.

"Invade? That's impossible."

"Why? Why is that impossible?" William questioned with a serious tone in his voice. "You're so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshank's table that you've missed your God-given right to something better. There is a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it."

With that, William, Team Kakashi, and the rest of his men left the building, which made the debate between the Scottish nobles begin again.

As they were about to leave Edinburgh, a man's voice called out to them.

"Wait!"

There stood Robert, the 17th Earl Of Bruce, who was also one of the leading contenders to the crown of Scotland, along with his other rivals John Comyn, and William Lamberton, Bishop Of St. Andrews.

He had short brown hair with a beard and mustache, and was about 5' 10'' tall, while he weighed a few pounds heavier than William. Like William, Robert also wore a belted plaid (part of it was on his neck as well as a necklace), but except he wore a long fur coat and brown leggings.

As soon as the septet (Campbell, Hamish, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Stephen and William) heard Robert's voice they turned to look at him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Robert The Bruce, but you can call me Robert. I know who Sir William is, but who are you?" Robert responded, questioning Naruto.

"These are my friends; Hamish with his father Campbell, Stephen of Ireland, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake who have been sent from a far away ninja village called Konoha on a mission to guard me during our fight against the English," William replied.

"Yeah! And I'm gonna become Hokage someday! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

"Excellent," Robert said with a smile as he turned his attention to William. "Now, may I please with Sir William alone?"

"Okay," Naruto shrugged his shoulders as Robert and William walked away from the group.

"I respect what you said, but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk."

"And the common man who bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less?" William quizzed.

"No, but from top to bottom this country has no sense of itself. Its nobles share allegiance with England. Its clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'll end up dead," Robert spoke.

"We all end up dead; it's just a question of how and why," William responded to Robert's statement to which they stopped walking and looked at each other face-to-face.

"I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles," said Robert.

"We need them?" William asked.

"Aye," Robert stated.

"Nobles. Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I," William vowed to Robert while Naruto who was inspired by William's words to Robert watched their conversaiton.

William walked away from Robert, who thought about what William just told him.

After William met up with Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi asked:

"So, William. What's our next move?"

William looked at them.

"We're going to attack York."

"Does this mean we have you call you "Sir William" from now on?" Naruto groaned with disappointment on his face.

William chuckled.

"No, Naruto. It doesn't."

"Oh. Good," Naruto smiled at William.

"Now come on. Let's go," William demanded.

"Right," Sakura voiced as she left with William, Kakashi, Naruto, Hamish, Campbell and Stephen to tell the rest of William's men their plans to attack York.

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><p><em>Here's something pretty interesting that I learned about Robert The Bruce, or who we knew as Robert.<em>

_Not only was he the 17th Earl Of Bruce and rivals with one of the leading contenders to the crown of Scotland, along with his other rivals John Comyn, and William Lamberton, Bishop Of St. Andrews, but he and William Wallace had a strong friendship._

_In fact, sometimes their bond reminded me of Naruto and Sasuke. In a way, Naruto was kind of like William, while Robert was kind of like Sasuke for obvious reasons._

_However, unlike Sasuke who wanted to avenge his clan by killing his brother Itachi, Robert didn't want to avenge his family because I think he lived a pretty normal life just like everyone else._

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><p><strong>(Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but I think the next chapter will be a little bit longer than this one, maybe. Anyway, in Sakura's narration where she compares William and Robert's close bond to Naruto and Sasuke's is actually what I thought when writing this fanfic and watching "Braveheart" at the same time. I don't want to say why Robert reminds me of Sasuke because, well, you're just going to have to find out for yourself. Although, for those of you who have seen "Braveheart", you probably know what I'm talking about. Anyway, hope you enjoyed Chapter 8! :D Please read and review because Chapter 9 is coming soon. ;) P.S. Does anybody know the outfit that Robert The Bruce is wearing? I think he was wearing a tartan like William, but I'm not sure. I'm sorry if I didn't describe Robert The Bruce correctly. Also, how much does he weigh? I went by the height of Angus MacFadyen, the actor who portrays Robert The Bruce in "Braveheart.")<strong>


	10. Chapter 9: Attack On York

Freedom. Chapter 9: Attack On York.

**(Note: Now, originally, I was going to have this chapter be part of Chapter 8 (the chapter where Robert The Bruce first appears in the fanfic), but then I decided to have Chapter 9 as a separate chapter. Well, anyway please enjoy Chapter 9, and I hope you liked Chapter 8! :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Later that day...<em>

William, Team Kakashi, and the rest of William's men were on their way to York in London, getting ready to make their move.

As soon as they got there, William raised a hand to everyone to his men and Team Kakashi.

"Stop," he commanded.

"So. That's York," Naruto realized.

"Aye," William agreed as Naruto looked at him.

"Well? Are you ready, William?"

"Aye," William stated.

"Let's go," Naruto determined with a serious look on his face.

* * *

><p><em>Later that night...<em>

After arriving in York, William's men and Team Kakashi created a battering ram of logs tied together and placed it on a cart as they began wheeling it across a bridge to the city walls. Once that was they taken care of, they lit torches, used flaming arrows, and poured boiling oil into pots and they splashed it down at the attackers, who blocked the gate.

Suddenly, the oil began to beat the first half of the Scots back, but eventally William rushed to them, and grabbed the cart with his own hands. The attackers began to grow while helping him slam the gate open.

While they continued battering the gate open, one of the captains of York told Prince Edward II's cousin, the Governor Of York:

"Sir, we can get you out if you leave now."

The Governor Of York yelled:

"I am not about to tell my uncle I've lost him the greatest city in Northern England!"

Meanwhile, the English dropped heavy rocks and continued pouring bits of oil on the Scots.

As soon as the gate was broken, the Scots and Team Kakashi were getting ready to attack the English, but William yelled:

"Back! Wait for it to burn!"

Sakura gawked at William with a panicked look on her face.

"What?! But William!"

"Will you stop and listen to me for one second, Sakura?!" William ordered Sakura who grew quiet. "Behold the enemy we fight! We will be more merciful than they have been! We will spare women, children, and priests. For all else, no mercy!"

Then, William gasped and saw the bodies of hanged Scots being thrown over the wall by the English. His heart began to race as he remembered seeing the hanged Scots back at his barn when he was a ten-year-old boy.

Immediately, William snapped out of it, and screamed:

"Come on!"

And so, William led more men to drive the ram into the gate and they all began to scream.

Once that was over and done with, everyone began to cheer.

"I've never burned a village before," Naruto said.

"Really? Not even once?" William questioned.

"Well, I heard that on the day I was born, the Nine-Tailed-Fox attacked my village and burned some buildings with his mouth," Naruto said.

"Like I said before, Naruto; this is what war is really like," William stated.

Naruto's eyes turned into sadness, as if he was about to cry in fear and realization for what he just did.

"Look. I know it is hard, but just imagine that the English are attacking Konoha. Would you have wanted to put a stop to it, even if some of the citizens of your village lost their lives?" William confronted.

Naruto sadly nodded his head, and clenched his fists in anger.

"If it means saving Sasuke, then I'll do whatever it takes to get him back... even if it means stopping the English and killing Longshanks," Naruto looked at William with a determined glare. "I'll never forgive Sasuke for betraying Konoha, and I'll never forgive Longshanks for killing all your loved ones by making you suffer, William."

"Wait," William's eyes widened. "Did you just say that Sasuke betrayed Konoha?"

Naruto stopped glaring.

"Yeah. It's kind of a long story, but I'll tell you later," Naruto replied.

After their attack on York, when everyone went back to William's camp, Sakura began to heal them, including Naruto, Kakashi, William, and herself.

Naruto looked up at the full moon while thinking of the promise he made to Sakura:

_"Naruto. This is a... once in a lifetime request. Just bring him home. Please bring Sasuke back to me."_

_"Don't you worry one bit! I'm gonna bring Sasuke back! I promise that on my life, Sakura!"_

Naruto looked at the picture of Team 7, and at the picture of him with Kakashi, Sakura and William after William just became the new replacement for Sasuke.

While Naruto was remembering all the good times that Team 7 has been through before William ever came along, Sakura walked up to Naruto.

"Naruto?" she interrupted his thoughts and he looked at her.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

Naruto nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine. It's just that... Team 7 has been through so much since Sasuke left Konoha, and I still haven't been able to keep my promise to bring him back to you, because I know how much you loved and cared about him," Naruto replied sadly as he looked at her. "Sakura? Do you think we'll ever find Sasuke and see him again?"

Sakura looked up at the sky.

"Who knows, Naruto? Who knows?"

Meanwhile, Longshanks found out that William sacked York as well as killing the Governor, and was trying to come up with an idea on how to neogiate with William. But, Longshanks knew that he'd never go to William because he (Longshanks) feared that he'd (William) kill him (Longshanks) right then and there. Then, Longshanks thought of the perfect person in mind that could try to speak with William.

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Again, I apologize for the short chapter, and I'm sorry if I didn't describe the attack on York as much as I thought it'd turn out, but I tried. Also, if you're wondering where I got William's lines, "Back! Wait for it to burn! Behold the enemy we fight! We will be more merciful than they have been! We will spare women, children, and priests. For all else, no mercy!" from, that's actually part of the early version of the script in "Braveheart." I also read somewhere online, that in some versions of "Braveheart" (I think the UK version), William says the line "We will spare women and children. For all else, no mercy!" Well, hope you enjoyed Chapter 9, and please stay tuned for Chapter 10! Read and review, please! :D)<strong>


	11. Chapter 10: Murron

Freedom. Chapter 10: Murron.

**(Note: Murron won't be appearing in the fanfic as much as she does in "Braveheart," but she will mentioned and she'll only be in "Freedom" a little bit. Hence why I said in the prologue that one of the main William pairings would be William X Murron. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy Chapter 10! :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p>After their attack on York, Team Kakashi, William and his men spent the night in a fortress.<p>

William was tossing and turning in his sleep, which began to bother Naruto and Sakura.

"Murron...," William mumbled Murron's name in his sleep.

"I wonder if he's having a nightmare...," Sakura voiced, concerned.

"I wonder too. However, there's this one thing that gets me though...," Naruto said.

"What's that, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Who's this "Murron" that William keeps talking about in his sleep?" Naruto wondered.

"I don't know. I just hope William will be okay by tomorrow. Well, good night, Naruto," Sakura replied.

"Good night, Sakura," Naruto answered back and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>In William's dream...<em>

_William was sleeping in the woods right near the campfire. As he was sleeping peacefully, he got startled by the sound of a twig snapping._

_He awoke, and saw a hooded figure wandering around through the trees. At that moment, William took out his sword, and followed the person._

_A few seconds later, the person stopped walking, and removed their hood. The person turned out to be a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes. She began to walk towards William from out of the mist._

_Then, as soon William saw this woman, he kneeled down on the ground, eyes wide__ning with shock as he began to realize who it was_

_She was a woman that William knew since childhood, and one who he fell in love with and married. However, her life was taken by the English, which left William in deep remorse for not saving her._

_Her name... was Murron MacClannough._

_Finally, after a moment of silence, William told her:_

_"I'm dreaming."_

_"__Yes you are," Murron replied. "And you must wake."_

_William looked around the woods and thought of Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. Then, he gazed back at Murron with pleading eyes, as if he was about to cry, not wanting the moment to last, and wishing that this dream was for real._

_"I don't want to wake. I want to stay here with you."_

_"And I with you," Murron comforted William. "But you must wake now. Wake up, William. Wake up."_

_Although William didn't want Murron to leave him again, he had no choice but to wake up._

_End of William's dream..._

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up, and saw that William was still sleeping.<p>

"Naruto! Wake up William!" Campbell (who was with Kakashi and Sakura) called Naruto.

Naruto shook William's left shoulder.

"Psst. William. Wake up," Naruto whispered.

"No. Don't leave me, Murron. Not again. I love you...," William murmured in his sleep again.

Naruto glared and shouted in William's ear:

"WAKE UP, WILLIAM! RIGHT NOW!"

"Gah!" William exclaimed and punched Naruto's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"For waking me up, you idiot!" William screamed.

"Well, I wasn't the one who wanted to wake you up," Naruto explained as he motioned his head to where Campbell was on top of the battlement on York's fortress.

"William, a royal entourage comes, flying banners of truce, with the standards of Longshanks himself!" Campbell hollered.

William quickly got to his feet, and walked out of the fortress with Naruto to go see what all the fuss was about.

**(Note: Again, sorry for the short chapter, but the next chapter will be longer. Well, hope you enjoyed Chapter 10, and please read and review! :D)**


	12. Chapter 11: Princess Isabelle

Freedom. Chapter 11: Princess Isabelle.

**(Note: Now before I get on with writing the chapter, I actually found out something about the real Princess Isabelle (in real life, her name was Isabella). (*SPOILERS FOR "BRAVEHEART"*) In "Braveheart," Isabelle and William had a love affair, although in real life, they never met because she was only ten years old when William died in 1305 (she was born in 1295). I believe that at the time of the Scottish rebellion, she was only three, and therefore never met or had a love affair with William (who was born in 1270, but died in 1305). However, for the sake of this fanfic, because the love story between William and Isabelle is probably one of my favorite parts in "Braveheart," (especially one of the main "Braveheart" themes "For The Love Of A Princess", which plays during the love scene :D), I've decided to include it in the fanfic. I'm not sure how old Isabelle is in "Braveheart" though, but I'm guessing she's a little bit younger than William (maybe seventeen?). *shrugs* I don't know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 11! :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p>While William's men stayed behind at York's fortress, Team Kakashi and William were on their way to meet the English.<p>

After they stepped off of a ferry, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William walked towards a large tent. A woman stepped out of the tent, and saw that William was coming. She took a deep breath and walked to him, until she was face-to-face with the quartet.

"I am the Princess of Wales. I come as the king's servant and with his authority," she spoke to the group.

"To do what?" William asked.

"To discuss the king's proposals," she said. "Will you speak with a woman?"

William looked at Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, and whispered to them:

"Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi. Let me do the talking."

"Right," Sakura understood.

_"Man, I'm really glad Pervy-Sage isn't here right now. If he was, he would have been swooning over the princess," _ Naruto thought in relief referring to Jiraiya as he (Naruto), Kakashi and Sakura followed William inside the tent to speak with the princess.

* * *

><p>Princess Isabelle was the wife of Edward II, the son of Longshanks. She wore a white veil with her hair inside of it, a crown, a blue and red dress with long tan sleeves. Like her hair, her eyes were also brown. After Isabelle walked inside the tent with William and Team Kakashi, Nicolette, Isabelle's maid and close friend walked to her. She looked at her in the eyes as if she was wishing Isabelle good luck on her meeting with William. However, Isabelle's attention switched back to William after she sat down.<p>

"I understand you have recently been given the rank of knight," Isabelle told William.

"I have been given nothing. God makes men what they are," William responded.

"Did God make you the sacker of peaceful cities, the executioner of the king's nephew, my husband's own cousin?" Isabelle asked with indignation in her voice.

At that moment, Sakura could have sworn she saw a smirk appear on William's face.

"York was the staging point for every invasion of my country," William answered. "And that royal cousin hanged innocent Scots, even women and children, from the city walls."

Isabelle and Hamilton, one of her guards looked at each other in disbelief.

"Well, Longshanks did far worse the last time he took a Scottish city."

Hamilton whispered to Isabelle in Latin:

("He is a bloody murdering savage. And he's telling lies.")

However, William heard Hamilton's statement, and answered back in Latin:

("I never lie. But I am a savage.")

Then, William started speaking French.

("Or in French if you prefer?")

In her mind, Isabelle was quite impressed that William could not only speak Latin, but also French, because she was from France, and therefore, like William, Isabelle could also speak French. She then went back to being her serious self, and focused on her conversation with William, who went back to speaking English again.

"You ask your king to his face, ask him, and see if his eyes can convince you of the truth."

Like Isabelle, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura were also quite impressed about William speaking Latin and French since they (Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura) learned from William about him speaking different languages.

After a moment of silence, Isabelle looked at Hamilton.

"Hamilton, leave us."

Hamilton was shocked, fearing that William was going to kill Isabelle.

"Milady?" Hamilton inquired.

"Leave us. Now," Isabelle demanded as Hamilton and his soldiers left Team Kakashi alone with William, Isabelle and Nicolette.

"What about us, Milady?" Kakashi questioned, which made Isabelle look at Team Kakashi.

"Who are you?"

"Forgive us, Milady. I am Kakashi Hatake. This is Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno. We have been sent on a mission to guard William. We come from Konoha," Kakashi informed Isabelle as he began to smile at her. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you." Then, Kakashi realized that he, Naruto and Sakura were interrupting William and Isabelle's conversation after getting a serious look from William. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Sorry. Please continue." William nodded as if he was saying, "Thank you" to Team Kakashi.

Then, Isabelle and William continued to talk.

"Let us talk plainly. You invade England, but you cannot complete the conquest so far from your shelter and supply," Isabelle stood up and walked to William. "The king desires peace."

William looked confused.

"Longshanks desires peace?"

"He declares it to me, I swear it," Isabelle reassured William. "He proposes that you withdraw your attack. In return he grants you title, estates, and this chest of gold which I am to pay to you personally."

At first, William didn't know what to say until he finally replied with a question:

"A lordship and titles. Gold. That I should become Judas?"

"Peace is made in such ways," Isabelle tried to explain.

"Slaves are made in such ways!" William yelled, which stunned Team Kakashi because they've never seen him _that _angry before. "The last time Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scottish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a barn where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember Longshank's notion of peace."

"I understand you have suffered. I know... about your woman," Isabelle sympathized, which made William get quiet all of a sudden because he knew... that she was talking about Murron.

Finally, after a pause, he said:

"She was my wife. We married in secret because I would not share her with an English Lord. They killed her... to get to me."

_"I wonder... this Murron that William was murmuring about in his sleep... __was that his __wife?"_ Sakura wondered to herself as she, along with Naruto and Kakashi started to feel sorry for William.

"I've never spoken of it," William continued talking to Isabelle, while lowering his head. "I don't know why I tell you now except...," he lifted up his head to look at her. "I see her strength in you."

Then, as soon as Isabelle looked at William, she found herself lost in his eyes... as if she was falling in love with him.

"One day you'll be a queen, and you must open your eyes," William told her.

Before he and Team Kakashi left Isabelle and Nicolette alone in the tent, the last thing that William spoke to her was:

"You tell your king that William Wallace will not be ruled, and nor will any Scot while I live."

* * *

><p>Later that day, Team Kakashi, William, Stephen and Hamish watched Isabelle's wagon depart. William looked at her one last time, and she was gone.<p>

Afterward, Stewart told William and Team Kakashi that a messenger had come to see William.

The messenger turned out to be Nicolette.

("Miss"), William greeted to her in French.

("A message from my mistress"), Nicolette greeted back in French.

("Thank you,") William replied in French once more as he looked at the paper that Nicolette gave him. Then, a look of shock and disbelief appeared on William's face.

"William. What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Longshanks has declared war on Scotland! Quick! We have to go to Edinburgh! Now!" William ordered.

"What for?" Naruto wondered.

"I'm going to give the Scottish Council a piece of my mind," William determined with a glare.

Naruto gulped.

_"I don't like the sound of that," _he whimpered to himself. He already saw William get angry once. He didn't want to see him act like that again.

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Well, in two chapters from now, the Battle Of Falkirk will take place. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 11, and stay tuned for Chapter 12! Read and review, please! :D)<strong>


	13. Chapter 12: Unite The Clans!

Freedom. Chapter 12: "Unite The Clans!"

**(Note: Well, this chapter is going to be pretty interesting, and you'll see why. Also, it's a reference to the line that William says to Robert about "uniting the clans" (hence the title of the chapter). It's also the title of one of the songs on one of the "Braveheart" soundtracks. Anyway, without further ado, hope you enjoy the chapter! :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p>After finding out about Longshanks declaring war on Scotland, William told Hamish to ride to Edinburgh to assemble the council.<p>

Meanwhile, the Scottish Council were discussing their plans about how to defeat the English at war again, while Hamish was watching them.

Then, William, Campbell, Stephen, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura came bursting through the door, and everyone looked at them.

William walked down the stairs, and spoke to the Scottish Council:

"My army has marched for more days than I can remember, and we still have preparations to make. So I'll make this plain. We require every soldier you can summon. Your personal escorts, even yourselves. And we need them now."

"With such a force arrayed against us, it is time to discuss other options," Craig stated bluntly.

"Other options?" William retorted with anger. Team Kakashi was pretty frightened to see Willliam like this... especially Sakura.

_"Oh no. I can't let this go on. I have to calm William down before he blows up," _Sakura panicked to herself.

"Don't you wish at least to lead your men onto the field and barter a better deal with Longshanks before you tuck tail and run?" William was furious.

"William-" Sakura tried to intervene, but Craig ignored her, and continued speaking with William.

"We cannot defeat this army."

"We can!" William shouted.

"Sir William!" now, it was Robert's turn to try to interrupt William.

"And we will! We won at Stirling, and still you quibble! We won at York and you would not support us. If you will not stand up with us now then I say you're cowards," William insulted the nobles who were about to yell at him. However, as Lochlan was about to attack William, Naruto was about to crush the table with his fist to stop Lochlan from hurting William, but Hamish beat Naruto to it by smashing his battle axe on the table, shocking the nobles as they started to grow silent. Robert got out of his chair and stood up.

"And if you are Scotsmen, I am ashamed to call myself one," William said.

"Please, Sir William. Speak with me alone," Robert voiced as William looked at him. "I beg you."

As William and Robert began to walk away from the table together, Sakura was going to try and calm William down, but Naruto grabbed her left fist with his right hand.

"Sakura, while William talks with Robert, I need to talk to you about something. It's rather important," Naruto urged as Sakura looked at him, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it's about William," Naruto replied.

Sakura looked at William and back at Naruto.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Sakura, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. I've actually been thinking about this for a while since William joined Team Kakashi and after our battle with the English at Stirling," Naruto said.

Sakura listened on with a worried look on her face. Was this conversation going to turn into something good or bad?

"In fact," Naruto continued. "This question has been on my mind lately, because I've started to notice that the two of you are spending a lot of time together, even though we haven't known him that long."

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura wondered as Naruto looked at William and then at Sakura.

"Alright. I'll tell you, but please don't get mad at me for saying this."

"Okay," Sakura responded.

_"Okay. Here it goes,"_ Naruto took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye while asking:

"Sakura, do you love William?"

Sakura was taken aback by this. Now normally, if it was Stephen or Naruto that asked her about her feelings for William, she'd punch them. However, this time she didn't do that, because she was in a state of shock.

"What?" she gasped.

"Do you love him?" Naruto repeated his question to Sakura who looked at William as he was talking with Robert.

"Unite us! Unite the clans!" William determined with a serious look on his face, and anger in his voice.

Sakura stared at William for a moment, and then gawked back at Naruto with a smile.

"Can I think about it for a little bit?"

"Sure," Naruto nodded as William and Robert began to shake their hands in agreement, while William walked back to Team Kakashi.

"So. How did it go?" Kakashi asked William.

"Very well. He's joining us at the Battle Of Falkirk," William assured them.

"When will that take place?" Naruto wondered.

"July 22, 1298," William answered.

"Alright! Time to kick Longshanks' butt once and for all!" Naruto exclaimed with a fist in the air.

Then, William noticed that Sakura had a sad look on her face.

"Sakura?" William looked at Sakura who was spacing out and gazed at him.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" William asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Sakura spoke.

"Alright. Come on. Let's go do some training," William demanded.

"Right!" Naruto agreed as he, Kakashi, Hamish, Stephen, Campbell, Morrison, Sakura and William left Edinburgh, and went back to William's campsite.

_"__Sasuke...," _Sakura thought to herself while thinking of Sasuke.

* * *

><p><em>As soon as Naruto questioned me about my feelings for William, I was stunned, yet almost speechless. I didn't know what to say.<em>

_At that time, I was still hurt about how Sasuke broke my heart by betraying Konoha. Not to mention that he called me "annoying."_

_But then, I met William. He changed my life forever, and taught me to believe in freedom as well as stand up for what I believe in, and to be a little more confident in myself._

_Inside, I felt so torn. Torn between William and Sasuke._

_However, as I started spending more time with William, little did I realize... that I was starting to fall in love with him...William Wallace, a Scottish rebel, and the man who stole my heart._

_To me, he was my brave heart._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Ooh. So Sakura seems to be falling in love with William, our favorite Scottish rebel. But little does she realize that another woman has also fallen in love with him – Princess Isabelle. Will Sakura finally able to tell William her true feelings for him? Anyway, the next chapter will be the Battle Of Falkirk, so stay tuned for Chapter 13, and please read and review! :D)<strong>


	14. Chapter 13: The Battle Of Falkirk

Freedom. Chapter 13: The Battle Of Falkirk.

**(Note: And now comes another one of my favorite battles in "Braveheart." This chapter is kind of a sad one though, so be prepared. Enjoy. :D)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>When William told Robert to unite the clans, I thought we could trust him.<em>

_But little did I know... that things were about to change..._

* * *

><p><em>~ July 22, 1298 (The Battle Of Falkirk)... ~<em>

Eight months have passed since William told Robert to unite the clans at Falkirk.

The Scots and Team Kakashi were getting to fight the English once more, hoping that they would win again, just like they did at Stirling.

All the Scots were assembled (William and Team Kakashi included) on the battlefield as they gazed at the English.

Hamish looked around to see if Robert was there, only to find out he wasn't.

"The Bruce is not coming, William," Hamish voiced his concern to William who still had faith in Robert.

"He'll come," William looked at Mornay and Lochlan and noticed their arrival on the battlefield. "Mornay and Lochlan have come. So will the Bruce."

_"__I've got a bad feeling about this,"_ Naruto's anxiety started to kick in, concerned about the situation.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Longshanks sat on his horse, preparing for battle.

King Edward I was well-known as "Longshanks" because he had long legs. His crown was on top of a helmet, and he wore a robe with the emblem of England, as well as wearing a suit of armor underneath it. He also had blue eyes, and under his helmet, he had curly white hair, and a beard and mustache which matched his hair color.

"Quite a lovely gathering," Longshanks was impressed as he looked at an unknown knight right beside him. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The knight nodded at him in agreement.

Naruto noticed that Longshanks was on the battlefield.

_"So... that's Longshanks,"_ Naruto glared at him, as he realized that Longshanks reminded him of Orochimaru.

In the meantime, Sakura looked at William.

"William?" she asked.

"Yes, Sakura?" William turned his head to face her, who was standing to his right.

"In case this ends badly, I have something to tell you," she voiced.

"What is it? Better make it quick," William ordered.

"Well, you see... I...," Sakura was about to say.

"You...?" William was curious as to see what Sakura was going to say to him. Her heart began to pound really fast.

"I... I..."

"Out with it, Sakura!" William was starting to grow impatient with her.

Sakura shook her head.

"It's nothing. I'll tell you later," she lied, but Naruto knew that Sakura was starting to fall deeply and madly in love with William.

Then, the English General raised the English banner.

"Infantry! Cavalry! Advance!" the General commanded as the Irish (with the English calvary and infantry following closely behind), with their weapons in hand, started to charge towards the Scots. But then, the Scots stopped and noticed that the Irish were there to help them.

Longshanks scoffed.

"Irish."

"Glad to have you with us. Watch this," William stabbed his sword into the ground, grabbed a banner, and waved it, signaling the Scottish archers to shoot fire arrows into battlefield to hurt the Engish.

"Alright! I think we're doing pretty good so far!" Naruto cheered.

"This battle is not over yet, Naruto. Let's go," William said as he led Team Kakashi, the Irish and the rest of the Scots to the battle the English.

Like the Battle Of Stirling, the battle between the Scottish and English was fierce when it came to Falkirk. Everyone was getting either hurt or killed.

William began to signal the banner again, this time, at the Scottish nobles, hoping that they'd join him and his army in the fight.

Mornay and Lochlan looked at each other, planning to take their leave.

"Wait. William, what's going on?" Sakura questioned.

_"No... it can't be. They betrayed us. How could they?" _William questioned to himself as a look of rage and hate began to appear on his face.

Suddenly, Longshanks sent the archers to shoot their arrows at the English, Scots and Irish, and many of them were getting killed. Before they knew it, the Scots were losing. One arrow hit Morrison in the chest as he fell to the ground dead, while an English soldier stabbed on axe on Campbell's stomach.

"Campbell!" Kakashi rushed to his aid and killed the soldier who hurt Campbell.

"Send in our reinforcements," Longshanks signaled the English general to send the rest of the English army to fight the Irish and Scots.

But out of the corner of his eye, Longshanks saw that Sakura was fighting alongside William.

"That girl that's with Wallace. What's her name?" Longshanks inquired.

"Her name is Sakura Haruno, sire," the English General stated, looking at Longshanks.

"Hmm. It seems she's taken quite a liking to him," Longshanks looked at the rest of the English soldiers. "Bring me Wallace. Alive if possible. Dead, just as good. Bring Sakura to me, so I can see her writhe in agony as she sees her precious William Wallace die right in front of her. Once he's gone, I'm going to give Sakura to one of our nobles, so she'll never see him again. Send us news of our victory," Longshanks looked at the unknown knight. "Shall we retire?"

As the battle raged on, abruptly, Naruto noticed that a flying object was starting to head towards William.

"William! Look out!" Naruto screamed.

However, it was too late...

Sakura stopped, slowly turned her head, and realized what was happening to him. An arrow hit William in the chest, and he was wincing in pain.

Then, she remembered Naruto asking her about her feelings for William eight months earlier.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback...<em>

_As William and Robert __began __to __w__alk away from the table together, Sakura was going to try and calm William down, but Naruto grabbed her left fist with his right hand.__"Sakura, while William talks with Robert, I need to talk to you about something. It's rather important," Naruto urged as Sakura looked at him, concerned._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Well, it's about William," Naruto replied._

_Sakura looked at William and back at Naruto._

_"What about him?" she asked._

_"Sakura, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. I've actually been thinking about this for a while since William joined Team Kakashi and after our battle with the English at Stirling," Naruto said._

_Sakura listened on with a worried look on her face. Was this conversation going to turn into something good or bad?_

_"In fact," Naruto continued. "This question has been on my mind lately, because I've started to notice that the two of you are spending a lot of time together, even though we haven't known him that long."_

_"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura wondered as Naruto looked at William and then at Sakura._

_"Alright. I'll tell you, but please don't get mad at me for saying this."_

_"Okay," Sakura responded._

_"Okay. Here it goes," Naruto took a deep breath and looked_

_ her straight in the eye while asking:_

_"Sakura, do you love William?"_

_Sakura was taken aback by this. Now normally, if it was Stephen or Naruto that asked her about her feelings for William, she'd punch them. However, this time she didn't do that, because she was in a state of shock._

_"What?" she gasped._

_"Do you love him?" Naruto repeated his question to Sakura who looked at William as he was talking with Robert._

_"Unite us! Unite the clans!" William determined with a serious look on his face, and anger in his voice._

_Sakura __stared at William for a moment, and then gawked back at Naruto with a smile._

_"Can I think about it for a little bit?"_

_"Sure," Naruto nodded as William and Robert began to shake their hands in agreement, while William walked back to Team Kakashi._

_End of flashback..._

* * *

><p>Sakura's never been <em>this <em>scared before. Why, the last time she was like that was when she saw Sasuke getting the Curse Mark from Orochimaru at the Forest Of Death six years ago.

At that moment, she knew that she already lost Sasuke who abandoned her after his betrayal to Konoha by going to Orochimaru.

Then, she thought of Lady Chiyo, and about how she sacrificed her life to save Gaara, who had the Ichibi (Shikaku, the One-Tailed tanuki sand spirit) extracted from him by the Akatsuki, after he was captured by them.

First, Sakura lost Sasuke, then Chiyo, and now, she feared she was going to lose William too.

Tears formed in her eyes, and she clutched her chest with her hands, feeling an ache in her heart, as if she was worried that William was going to die.

So, she ran to William's side while screaming his name:

"WILLIAM!"

Finally, when she came to him, she saw William breaking off the arrow, while continuing to fight the English with all his might, even though his troops were fatally wounded and dead.

"William!" William turned around to look at Sakura and realized that she was the one calling his name.

She put her left hand on William's right shoulder, as if she was comforting him.

"Hang on, William. You're going to be okay," Sakura soothed him.

However, as soon as William saw Longshanks leaving with his knights, he was outraged.

The look of vengeance that William had on his face scared Sakura. She remembered seeing Sasuke with that same glare back when he was about to fight Naruto at the hospital rooftop of Konoha five years earlier before his departure.

Immediately, William ran to a nearby horse that had an English soldier on it, and pulled him off of it.

"No, wait!" Sakura cried, trying to stop William who just got on the horse and rode towards Longshanks.

Then, Naruto, Kakashi and Stephen saw that Sakura was running after him.

"Sakura! William" Naruto called out their names.

"Naruto! Quick! We must follow them!" Stephen demanded as he, Kakashi and Naruto found three horses, and rode after Sakura and William.

Sakura was still running after William, while an enraged William (who raised his sword) was charging towards Longshanks.

Then, the English General noticed that William was coming their way. The English General looked at the knight who was next to Longshanks before and ordered:

"Protect the king."

The knight turned and charged towards William, his lance in the air. Sakura stopped running, and noticed that the two men were about to kill each other.

_"Oh no," _Sakura whimpered to herself.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned around and saw that Naruto was the one calling her name who arrived with Kakashi on horseback.

"Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Thank goodness you're here! We have to stop this fight!" Sakura cried out.

"Too late! Look!" Kakashi pointed out as the knight knocked William off his horse with his lance pierced into his horse's chest and he fell face down on the grass.

"William!" Sakura cried as she rushed to his side along with Kakashi and Naruto. She turned William's body over to face her, and she began to heal him.

The knight dismounted off of his horse, threw the broken lance on the ground, and walked towards the unconscious William.

However, William's eyes snapped open, and noticed that the knight was coming towards him. Abruptly, William grabbed the knight and flipped him over, and was about to unsheathe his knife to slit his throat.

However, as William was about to slit the knight's throat, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura heard a man's voice screaming under the helmet.

_"Wait. That voice... it sounds so... familiar...," _Sakura told herself.

Then, as soon as William removed the knight's helmet, Team Kakashi and William were shocked to discover...

That the knight that appeared before them...

...Was none other than Robert The Bruce.

_To be continued in Chapter 14..._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: I felt like I just had to end this chapter with a cliffhanger to make it suspenseful. Also, as I was writing the part where William gets injured by the English, the song "No Good Deed" from the musical "Wicked" (which tells the story of the untold friendship between the witches of Oz in "The Wizard Of Oz") came to my mind, because in this chapter, the song (although it's not in this fanfic because of copyright) describes Sakura being in a state of panic as she's watching William getting wounded, that she almost doesn't know what to do. In my notes (on my iPhone), I also wrote fan-made lyrics to the song "No Good Deed" to fit the story. I sometimes write fan-made lyrics to songs (both with lyrics and instrumental music), and fan-made lyrics to songs that are in a different languages (i.e. Japanese). Anyway, hope you enjoyed Chapter 13 of "Freedom", and stay tuned for Chapter 14! Read and review, please! :D)<strong>


	15. Chapter 14: Betrayal

Freedom. Chapter 14: Betrayal.

**(Note: Here's yet another sad chapter. Enjoy.)**

**Disclaimer:**  
><strong>I do not own Braveheart or Naruto. Braveheart belongs to Mel Gibson, and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Previously on Chapter 13 of "Freedom"...<em>

_The knight dismounted off of his horse, threw the broken lance on the ground, and walked towards the unconscious William._

_However, William's eyes snapped open, and noticed that __the knight was coming towards him. Abruptly, William grabbed the knight and flipped him over, and was about to unsheathe his knife to slit his throat._

_However, as William was about to slit the knight's throat, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura heard a man's voice screaming under the helmet._

_"Wait. That voice... it sounds so... familiar...," Sakura told herself._

_Then, as soon as William removed the knight's helmet, Team Kakashi and William were shocked to discover..._

_That the knight that appeared before them..._

_...Was none other than Robert The Bruce._

_Now..._

_Chapter 14: Betrayal._

* * *

><p>The expressions on Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and William's faces were full of shock and disbelief. They felt as if their hearts stopped beating, as they were trying to comprehend on what just happened. "Robert... how could you?" Naruto asked in a whisper. "Is this your way... of uniting the clans?"<p>

William began to back away from Robert.

"How could you, Robert?!" Naruto screamed. "Isn't William like a brother to you?! We had faith in you, and this is the thanks we get in return?! At first, we think you're going to fight alongside us in order to beat the English, and then, suddenly, you backstab us by joining Longshanks! Man... some friend you are...," tears burned in Naruto's eyes.

William fell to the ground, as he also had tears in his eyes.

"Did you ever even think about William's feelings, and wondered how he would have felt if you joined Longshanks?! Not only did you betray us, but so did Mornay and Lochlan! How do you think _we _feel right now, Robert?! Just answer me! Why would you do this?! I thought we trusted you. But now... I don't know what to believe anymore...,"

Robert just sat there in silence, speechless by Naruto's words.

_"Why, Robert? Why?"_ William was thinking the same way. Like Naruto, he felt as if he wanted to yell at Robert, and to maybe slit his throat for betraying him.

"You know... this isn't the first time that Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I have been betrayed by someone," Naruto said as William looked at him. "A long time ago, our teammate and close friend Sasuke Uchiha betrayed Konoha, our ninja village. He went to an evil man called Orochimaru for power, just so Sasuke could kill his brother Itachi for massacring their family, the Uchiha Clan. I fought so hard to get Sasuke back. I even kept my promise to Sakura to bring him back home, but yet, he left us," Naruto began to cry.

_"Naruto...," _William thought to himself, as if he wanted to hug Naruto.

"Robert, do you even know the meaning of loyalty and friendship? Loyalty is when you trust someone with all your heart. Loyalty is when you have a friend right at your side, letting you know that everything will be okay, and that you never... ever... turn your back on them. But true friendship is for people who accept you for who you are. They're like family to you, and make you feel like you're important to them. You know, Robert, if you would have been on our side and not Longshanks', then none of this would have ever happened."

Then... rage and hatred appeared on Naruto's face as he shouted:

"This is all your fault! I hate you, Robert The Bruce! I wish you and William never even met!"

That statement that Naruto said to Robert made his heart shatter into pieces, as he felt guilty for what he had done. He was torn on whether he would listen to his father, Robert The Elder by fighting alongside the English in order to become the King Of Scotland, or to fight alongside William, and to see what it's really like to fight the English for freedom.

"Naruto. That's enough," Kakashi interrupted Naruto who looked at him as William noticed that the English soldiers were running towards him, laid down back on the grass, ready to give up. "Look. All that matters is that Lady Tsunade said we have to keep William alive no matter what. Focus on the mission at hand."

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi focused their attention on William.

"Naruto... Sakura... Kakashi...," William managed to say weakly.

Tears began to form in Sakura's eyes.

"William...," she voiced quietly.

"You were... the best thing... that ever happened to me. I don't think I'm going to make it," William replied.

"No! Don't say that, William! You're not going to die! You can't do this to us! Don't leave us, you hear me?!" Naruto determined with panic in his voice.

William looked at a guilt-ridden Robert.

"Robert. In case I die... promise me... that you will look after Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi... promise me..."

With that, William slipped into unconsciousness.

"No. Oh, William. Please wake up," Sakura begged William.

Robert ran to William, and tried to wake him up.

"Get up! Get up!" Robert cried.

Luckily, Stephen on horseback saw Robert, who shouted to him:

"Get them out of here!"

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura got on their horses, while Robert gave William's body to Stephen and put him on his (Stephen) horse.

Stephen and Team Kakashi stared at Robert for a quick second.

"Go!" Robert demanded as Stephen and Team Kakashi rode off to safety with an unconscious William with the English in tow.

Afterward, Robert was on the field, alone. Then, he noticed a handkerchief on the ground which was engraved with a thistle on it. He got up off the ground, walked to it, and picked it up. At that moment, Robert realized that this was no ordinary handkerchief. It was a thistle embroidery that Murron gave to William at their wedding.

Naruto's words echoed in Robert's mind:

_"__I wish you and William never even met!"_

"_Naruto... William... I'm so sorry." _Inside, Robert was hurt and heartbroken after realizing what he just did.

* * *

><p><em>Later that night...<em>

Back at William's campsite, some of the surviving soldiers in William's army were tending to their wounds.

Meanwhile, Sakura was inside of William's tent healing him.

Kakashi walked out of the tent, and saw an anxious Naruto waiting to hear the news of William's recovery.  
>As soon as Naruto noticed Kakashi, he ran up to him.<p>

"Well? How is he, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi gave him a smile, and replied:

"Don't worry, Naruto. William's going to be okay."

Naruto sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness."

Then, Kakashi became sad.

"However... there is something I want to ask you, Naruto."

"What is it?" Naruto wondered.

"Who is this "Murron" that William keeps speaking of?"

Then, Naruto remembered William mumbling Murron's name in his sleep before he met Isabelle and the Battle Of Falkirk.

"I'm not sure, but I remember Sakura and I were hearing him say that name in his sleep before we met Isabelle," Naruto confirmed.

"Well, it turns out you are correct, Naruto," Kakashi responded to which Naruto perked his head up to look at Kakashi.

"Huh?"

"It appears that ever since we've reached William's campsite after the Battle Of Falkirk, he's been mumbling her name in his sleep."

"Does Sakura know about this?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Kakashi turned his head to the left to look at Sakura tending to William's wounds. "She's over there healing him right now."

After she was done healing William, Sakura started talking to him while he was still unconscious.

"Hey. William? I don't know if you can hear me, but... stay with us. We need you now more than ever. William. I know we haven't known you that long, but... I feel like I've known you forever. In fact, when I first saw you, you changed my life forever. You taught me to believe in freedom, and to stand up for what I believe in. Whenever I'm with you, you make my heart race. Ever since Sasuke left, although a part of me still loved him, I almost feel like you were the one that's been with me longer than he has, and I've... never felt this away about anyone before. Look, William. What I'm trying to say is that... I..."

As Sakura was about to tell William her feelings for him, Naruto and Kakashi came inside of his tent.

"How is he?" Kakashi inquired as Sakura turned her head to face.

"He's still not waking up," she murmured.

"Just give him time. He's still recovering from his injuries," Kakashi told her.

Then, as soon as he said that, they heard a groan.

Team Kakashi looked in William's direction, and realized that he was starting to come to.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking carefully at his surroundings.

"You're back at your tent," Kakashi said.

"William!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile on his face.

"William...," Sakura voiced as tears were about to form in her eyes. He slowly began to rise up, and looked at Team Kakashi.

"William!" Sakura got closer to William's face and embraced him tightly.

"Hey, William! Welcome back, buddy!" Naruto stated with a grin.

Then, he noticed that Sakura was starting to sob while hugging William.

At that moment, Naruto started to remember something that Sakura told him when they got to the battlefield at Falkirk before the war with the Scots and English started again.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback...<em>

_While the Scots and Team Kakashi were pouring tar and oil on the battlefield for the English to fall in their traps, Sakura walked up to Kakashi, Naruto, Hamish, Campbell, Morrison and Stephen._

_"Um, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Hamish, Campbell, Morrison, Stephen. I need to talk to you," she stated._

_"What is it, Sakura?" Naruto wondered._

_"Sakura, can't you see we're in the middle of something?" Hamish growled in annoyance._

_"I know, but look. Just hear me out. I need to talk to all of you alone... without William," Sakura aforementioned._

_"Okay," Stephen nodded his head as he, Kakashi, Hamish, Campbell, Morrison and Naruto followed Sakura to another part of the battlefield. Meanwhile, William was helping the rest of the Scots prepare for battle._

_"Now then. What did you want to talk to us about, __Sakura?" Campbell asked._

_"Well, this might be crazy, but..." Sakura replied as she said something that shocked everyone._

_"Sakura. What did you just say?" Naruto quizzed in confusion._

_"Naruto. I said... I think I'm falling in love with William," Sakura answered._

_Everybody was speechless._

_Normally, Stephen would say, "Ha! I knew you were in love with William!" to Sakura, but this time he didn't do that. He kept calm, and just remained silent._

_"Naruto. Remember that time when William told Robert to unite the clans?"_

_The words "Unite us! Unite the clans!" as spoken by William rang in Naruto's ears._

_Then, Sakura began to speak again._

_"That day, you asked me about my feelings for William. I thought a lot about it, and it turns out you were right. I do love him."_

_Naruto put his hands on Sakura's shoulders._

_"Sakura, we're just about to go to war with the English, and now you're already telling us that you're in love with William?"_

_Sakura scoffed._

_"What's wrong with that?"_

_"Look. Don't you remember the shinobi rule? To never show your feelings during a mission, __and to stay focused?"_

_Sakura took Naruto's hands off her shoulders._

_"Of course I do! Just hear me out!" she shouted._

_"Look. The reason why I'm starting to have feelings for William is because Sasuke just left Konoha and broke my heart. Instead of telling me that he loved me, he called me "annoying." But William... he made me feel like I was somebody. He never insulted me, and he's always been so kind to me. You could say I started falling in love with him after we won our battle with the English at Stirling," Sakura held out a clenched fist in front of her. "Every single word that William said during his speech about freedom, I believed him. I know you all did too," she released her grasp on her fist. "I know it's so sudden, and Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I haven't known you all that long. But... I think I realized my love for him when he told Isabelle that she'd be a queen one day, and that she'd open her eyes to the world __around her, and it was also because I felt so sorry for him when he started talking about how his wife and family were all killed by the English. Sasuke just keeps breaking my heart, but Naruto, like you, William has also been there for me. No. You've all been there for me... when I needed your help. I truly thank you for that."_

_Sakura smiled at them._

_"Does William know about this?" Stephen inquired as a worried look appeared on Sakura's face._

_"No. But please don't tell him. He can never know, because if I do tell him now, he'll never speak to me again and get mad at me. What if he kicks me out of the army? Promise you won't tell him."_

_"Tell me what?" came the voice of William who appeared behind the group._

_"Oh. I was just telling everyone about our plans for the battle," Sakura fibbed with a nervous chuckle while smiling._

_"You do know that's my job, right? After all, you weren't the one who gave the freedom speech at Stirling now, did you, Sakura?" William glared at her._

_"No," Sakura shook her head sadly._

_"Then get ready for battle," William demanded._

_Sakura nodded._

_"Yes, sir."_

_End of flashback..._

* * *

><p>Naruto remembered when Sakura hugged Sasuke after he awoke from his coma during his battle with Itachi who did the Tsukoyomi on him. At that moment, Naruto realized of how much Sakura really loved William.<p>

"Oh William," Sakura wept. "I thought I lost you."

William hugged Sakura.

"Shh. It's alright, Sakura. I'm here now. It's okay."

William was about to stand up.

"No! You musn't push yourself, William! You're still recovering from your injuries!" Sakura tried to help Willliam.

"Where are the others? And Robert?" William asked, looking around the campsite.

"Well, apparently, Morrison died from his injuries. As for Campbell, he's with Hamish. However, I don't think Campbell is going to make it," Kakashi replied, sadly.

"And Robert?" William questioned.

"He's gone. When Stephen came to come get us, Robert lifted up your body on Stephen's horse, and the five of us escaped the English while you were unconscious. I'm not sure where Robert went though," Naruto stated.

"I see," William understood.

"Wait. If I try to heal Campbell, then he'll be okay, right?" Sakura questioned.

"You can try, but like I said before, Sakura, I don't think he's going to make it," Kakashi repeated himself.

And so, Team Kakashi and William went to join Stephen, Campbell, Hamish and the rest of the Scots at the campsite.

* * *

><p>While Sakura was healing Campbell, Stephen brought some water in a bowl to Hamish to try and heal him.<p>

Campbell began to cough.

"I'm dying. Let me be," he managed to say weakly as Team Kakashi, Hamish, Stephen and William all looked at him.

Hamish shook his head in disbelief.

"No, you're going to live."

"I've lived long enough to live free; proud to see you become the man you are," Campbell muttered to Hamish.

"Campbell... you were like... a second grandfather to me," Naruto added as he looked at William. "And you were also like... a father to William."

With a smile on his face, the last words that Campbell spoke to them were:

"I'm a happy man."

By that moment, Sakura stopped healing Campbell, and everyone realized that he had passed on.

Hamish began to mourn for his father, while Naruto and Sakura hugged Hamish as tears also appeared in their eyes.

* * *

><p><em>It was an emotional day for all of us.<em>

_William had an army of 6,000 Scottish men, while Longshanks had an army of 15,000 men. I knew that there was no way we could beat the English._

_Over 2,000 Scots were killed at the Battle Of Falkirk along with 1,000 English soldiers._

_However, our victory was not successful as it was last time._

_Then, in the midst of it all, Robert betrayed us._

_After Campbell and Morrison died, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei and I felt like we were reliving the moment when the Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru at the time when he attacked Konoha five years ago. Many other Konoha ninja lost their lives against the Sound and Sand ninja._

_At that time, Gaara was evil. But because of Naruto's ability to change people, Gaara no longer became the murderer that we all knew. Because he, along with his siblings Kankuro and Temari and the rest of the Sand ninja back in Suna changed their ways while becoming allies with the Leaf ninja in Konoha._

_However, when it came to Team Kakashi protecting William, I tried to focus on the mission at hand, but I couldn't hide my feelings any longer._

_So, that night, Naruto and I mourned the loss of Campbell, who was such a close friend to us, that he was like a grandfather to Naruto and me, as well as a father figure to William._

* * *

><p><strong>(Note: Every time I watch the scene in "Braveheart" where Robert The Bruce betrays William, I almost can't help but sympathize with William and what he's going through. It's like, you can tell on the excpression on his face, in his mind he's thinking, "Why?!" This may seem kind of odd, but whenever I heard the word "betrayal", the first thing that comes to my mind is when in the Bible, Judas betrayed Jesus. But religious stuff aside, although I was kind of mad at Robert for betraying William, there is a part of me that can't help but feel sorry for him (Robert) because he's so torn up inside. In a way, he's kind of forced to choose between his father and William. But in my mind, I'm glad that Robert followed his heart. Hence the part where he tells his father (when referring to William), "I don't want to lose heart! I want to believe... as he does. I will never be on the wrong side again." It's so heartwrenching, which is why in a way, Sasuke reminds me of Robert (who is another one of my favorite "Braveheart" characters). In my mind, William is Naruto, Robert is Sasuke, and either Sakura or Hinata is Isabelle, and either Sakura or Hinata is Murron. I guess Sakura would be Isabelle, while Hinata would be Murron. Anyway, I kind of wanted to give Naruto the spotlight when it came to him giving that speech to Robert about betrayal and about Sasuke. Don't think that William is the only one that's good at making speeches. Sorry if the chapter's kind of sad though, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Anyway, in the next chapter (Chapter 15), William and Sakura are going to have a moment together, so stay tuned! Read and review, please! :D)<strong>


	16. Announcement And Update (10-26-2014)

Freedom (Announcement And Update: 10-26-2014).

**(*Warning* The following description contains spoilers for "Braveheart." You have been warned.)**

Hey guys. It's Aerisuke here, again, and I'm really sorry that Chapter 15 of "Freedom" isn't out yet. For those who don't know (and I've said this before in one of the previous chapters), the flashdrive that I've been using that has all my documents is no longer working. But don't fret. I still have all my documents in a back-up folder. I've written a few scripts for some of the scenes in the fanfic (I have one of them in my notes on my iPhone 5S). However, I am unable to access any of my documents because I no longer have the flashdrive. I'm getting a new one though. Maybe sometime around Christmas or before, so until then, you're going to have to wait for Chapter 15. Sorry. :( Anyway, I have a big announcement to make. Now, if you recall, when I wrote the prologue to "Freedom", I said that I originally was going to do a "Braveheart"/"Legend Of Zelda" crossover fanfic about it. But then, recently, I was going to write that crossover fanfic after I'm done with my "Braveheart"/"Naruto" crossover fanfic. However, I decided that I wanted to do a multi-crossover with "Braveheart" (my favorite movie) "The Legend Of Zelda" (my favorite video game series), and "Naruto" (my favorite anime/manga series). The story would be the same as "Freedom" (you know, it would still have the love triangle between Sakura, William, and Princess Isabelle who like in "Braveheart" would have a love affair with William), but except in "Freedom," the story would start off in medias res (in the middle of the story) with William's execution up until the point where he shouts "FREEDOM!" before he dies, and then Sakura (who is 34 years old in 1314; she was 17 when she met William who was 27 In 1297 and 25 when he died at the age of 35 in 1305) who would awaken from a nightmare about William's execution (because it's been haunting her ever since) would tell the story about how she fell in love with him, and the trials and hardships that Team Kakashi (Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura) have been through with him.

Well, in the "Braveheart/'Legend Of Zelda"/Naruto" multi-crossover fanfic, like in "Braveheart", the story would start off with William as a little boy and his father and brother being killed in the war against the English as he (William) is taken under his uncle Argyle's wing. This time, Link and Zelda would become William and Murron's childhood friends while Impa (Zelda's nursemaid) would be part of the group, and eventually Murron and William would fall in love and get married. Link and Zelda would be the same age as William, while Murron (who, according to the "Braveheart" Wiki was born in 1275, but died in 1296) would be five years younger than them). Sadly, like in "Braveheart", Murron would get killed by the English, which would lead William to go on a quest for revenge against the English... especially Longshanks (a.k.a. King Edward I), while at the same time fighting for Scotland's freedom. Later on, from the Battle Of Stirling and onward, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi would join the quartet (Impa, Link, William and Zelda), and like in "Freedom," Sakura would fall in love with William. But like William and Isabelle who would eventually fall in love, Link and Zelda would also fall in love, and thus both Zelda and Isabelle would be pregnant at the same time (Zelda would be pregnant with Link's child, while Isabelle would be pregnant with William's child). Well, the title of the fanfic will be called:

"The Legend Of William Wallace: Freedom."

However, I will not be working on this fanfic until after I'm done with these two fanfics:

"Freedom" (my "Braveheart"/"Naruto" crossover fanfic)  
>"The Adventure Of Naruto And Sasuke" (my "Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess"Naruto" crossover fanfic) because that's the one I also want to work on, and there are some people still waiting for that fanfic to be finished.

Well, that's it for the announcement. New chapters of "Freedom" (including Chapter 15) will be coming soon. I promise. ;)

Bye! :D


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